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An Interview with David Black, Writer, Producer and Star of Game of Groans

by Mike Haberfelner

February 2022

David Black on (re)Search my Trash

 

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Your new movie Game of Groans - in a few words, what is it about?

 

It’s a nerds vs girl gang film. The official description is “A nerdy group of game players encounters a sadistic girl gang … and all hell breaks loose!”

 

Stupid question, but still - why Monopoly?

 

I was looking back at an article about the old Polyester Books shop having been busted back in the VHS days and their stock confiscated due to them stocking Faces of Death and other material deemed offensive by the Australian government. Their old business card was a “Get out of Hell Free” spoof on Monopoly. The concept for the film just formed from there when I went into a day dream about the card.

 

What were your sources of inspiration when writing Game of Groans?

 

Before making short films, I often think of the cinemas that show mine as the short before the main. These theatres show cult films, so I try to make shorts that will fit the various genres played. In this case, I had gang films like Faster, Pusscat ... Kill! Kill! and The Warriors as the gang genre on my mind.

 

On the nerd side, Revenge of the Nerds stood out. There were so many in the ‘80’s with similar themes where the nerds fought back against the jocks. These always had the hot chicks that the nerds couldn’t normally get, yet the tables would somehow be turned.

 

How would you describe Game of Groans' brand of humour?

 

It’s black humour in the Mel Brooks/Troma sense. I’ve noticed that the mainstream is catching up though and DC has been using black humour with The Suicide Squad and the spin off series Peacemaker.

It’s a bit slapstick, ultra-violent and in bad taste. It is never malicious though.

 

Game of Groans doesn't exactly hold back when it comes to (comicbook) violence - would you like to elaborate on that a bit?

 

Sure. One of the things that is impossible at a zero budget is to get highly choreographed action, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ways to achieve an exciting fight scene. I decided to pull out all the stops to keep this a fast paced, hard hitting film and that meant being relentless.

 

What can you tell us about Game of Groans's director Gerardo Chierchia, and what was your collaboration like?

 

I’ve made quite a few films with Gerardo now and have learned to just trust him. I don’t discuss the films in as great a detail as I would with any other cinematographer/director. I just get him the script and there might be a brief conversation over Facebook chat. I try not to dictate too much with anyone involved in my films so that everyone has enough creative freedom to feel that the end product is their own. All my shoots today have been volunteer, so it is important that the talent feel that they are creators rather than employees that must do what they are told.

 

You also appear in front of the camera in Game of Groans - so what can you tell us about your character, what did you draw upon to bring him to life, and have you written him with yourself in mind from the get-go?

 

My character of Darvis first appeared in Time Goddess. I first created Darvis when I remembered some of the silly times I had with my late brother, years ago. My brother died a few decades ago in his 30’s and I was just remembering the times we would sit around, tell silly stories and try to make each other giggle.

Steve always laughed when I imitated Bruce Spence, who played the Gyro Copter guy in Mad Max 2. He also played a yobbo in an old Ozpoloitation film in the 1970’s called Stork. I built up the character “Darvis” from that voice and just imagined how nerdy, pervy and silly he would be and then added in a bit of “Brainiac” to the character.

 

What can you tell us about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people?

 

Nearly all of the cast are actors that have worked on heaps of films with me before. Same with the crew. There were only a couple of new additions in that we had a new soundie and Grace Liu did her first role with us.

 

Starting with Anastasia C. Kouloukas, she worked her way up from being an extra as “the screaming girl” in Dark Night of the Zomboogies to starring in Parental Duties, Sinister Symbiosis and the feature Badass Bunyip. She’s found her spot as a dominant character that can inflict pain.

Melanie Kuhn started as an extra too in The Road to Hell is Still Undefined. She got a main spot in Toxic Alien Zombie Babes from Outer Space where I could see that it was time for her to step up. Her performance in Game of Groans was that good that a lot of the cast and crew were telling me that she should have her own film, so she will star in a pirate film called Hunger for Treasure.

Grace Liu was a last minute addition because one of the actors pulled out. She really came through and has a spot in the upcoming Onan and the Trojan Matzah Ball. I can see her starring in her own film soon.

Glen Cook [Glen Cook interview - click here] and Brett Sixtysix have been in heaps of my films. Glen is actually the gaffer and Brett runs the Fitzroy Art Collective. Glen starred in Hamlet for the Fireys that will soon be on the big screen at the Warrandyte Film Feast. Brett makes his own movies but is pretty damned good in front of the camera too.

 

Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere!

 

My films are different in that we have a collaborative atmosphere. Unlike all the other film sets that I’ve been on, there is no big gathering at the start where the director gives a speech and tries to get everything enthusiastic. Some of those sets just feel cult like to me and they are rife with egos. The norm for our sets is that I say hello to everyone as they come in and they get themselves set up. There are lots of hello hugs with cast and crew. Once we are up and filming, anyone can speak up with a suggestion. The positions are all respected so the director still gets the last say and everyone follows instructions.

 

Many of the crew and actors have university qualifications in filmmaking, so their opinions are wanted. We are small, no budget shoots so sometimes people will do multiple jobs too. Anastasia, Glen and Vixey have often swapped out from acting in one scene, to taking over sound, or second camera in another scene - if they are not in front of the camera in that scene. We’ve had scenes where crew were all called in to be extras, so I think all of my regular crew have been in front of the camera too.

 

The $64-question of course, where can Game of Groans be seen?

 

Game of Groans can be seen free on YouTube, but it is on restricted due to the heavy nature of the film. You have to be over 18 and logged in to view it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy3F8PomB_o

 

Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of your movie?

 

The film has only just come out so I don’t know what people think of it yet. It’s on restricted view too, so far fewer people have seen it than usual. I guess I’ll just have to be patient and find out in time.

 

Any future projects you'd like to share?

 

The main upcoming project is Toxic Alien Zombie Babes from Outer Space. It’s almost finished but we have something like 3.5 hours of edited footage so far, so there is more work to do to cut it back a bit more. It has been the big project during the lockdowns with footage filmed from all over the world. One thing holding it back was that a lot of it was self shot. My self shot scenes weren’t up to scratch so Gerardo and I decided to wait until the lockdowns were over and then spend a day getting mine done. Unfortunately, we have kept going back into lockdown in Melbourne. We are just so close to finished that it is frustrating! Lol.

 

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Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

 

Not really. We are always busy making films so there is no way to cover everything. I think we did go over a lot here though.

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

Thanks for the opportunity Mike.

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


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Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
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