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Your new movie Lights
Over Montgomery County - in a few words, what is it about?
It's
about a public access TV show that once aired a special broadcast about a
phenomenon that has taken place for over a century due to a very
disturbing event that took place in the 1800's. The real reason behind
the phenomenon is far more sinister than the host of the show imagined
and the broadcast gets scrapped and never shown again. Now a bootleg,
dark web, leaked copy exists that is being passed around digitally and
physically.
The titular "lights over Montgomery Coutny" - is
that an actual phenomenon, and what kind of research did you do on it
and/or similar phenomena? So, there are no lights phenomena here in
Montgomery County that I'm aware of. There is an old story about Marfa
Lights that takes place in West Texas every so often. I've only briefly
read about the occurrences. My movie isn't meant to reflect those events. (Other) sources of inspiration
when writing Lights
Over Montgomery County? As previously mentioned, I think it's pretty awesome that there
are actual known events that take place right here in Texas, so I'm glad
Iwas able to draw inspiration from that. But mostly, I'm just a huge fan
of famous films such as Fire in the Sky, Alien Abduction,
The McPherson
Tape etc. Your personal opinions
on UFOs and UFO research? I personally
believe UFOs exist. The universe is far too vast to think we're the only
beings in existence. I think UFO research is being done in secret and
will hopefully be more welcomed and accepted one day.
You chose to go the
mockumentary route with Lights
Over Montgomery County - so what prompted that choice? I
think mockumentaries are most convincing when dealing
with cryptid, paranormal, alien phenomena. I also grew up in the 80s and
90s when public access shows and special presentation style mystery shows
were very prevalent. That's the vibe I was going for anyway. What
can you tell us about your overall directorial approach to your story at
hand? I wanted to give people an opportunity to kind of get lost in the wild
and crazy aspects of the film. I want people to question whether what
they're watching is real or not. I'm still so new to filmmaking, that I
just wanted to have fun and play with some fake blood and guts while
trying to deliver what I hope is, at the very least, a fun ride. You also appear in front of the camera in Lights
Over Montgomery County - 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 is just a normal, husband and father that gets curious
about new technology and decides to purchase this new addition for his
family to use. He soon regrets that decision. I drew upon the basic human
experience to have access to the newest and coolest technology available
in 2023. A lot of people prefer a simpler type of lifestyle, myself
included, which is why I chose to incorporate that into the project. I
always had myself in mind to play the character, but mostly out of
necessity. I'm not a well known filmmaker with access to huge sums of
money to pay trained actors. Plus, I enjoy being in front of and behind
the camera with all of my friends and family involved.
Do
talk about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people? Well, as mentioned
above, I enjoy having my family and friends involved. It's important to me to have folks I know and care deeply about have fun and take part in
all of this with me. A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? It didn't take long to shoot, because
I had an idea set in
my mind for a really long time, so once the opportunity to shoot
presented itself, it was pretty easy to get it done quickly. Most of the
project was filmed either at my house, my friend's house or through
virtually self shot scenes that were sent to me to add and edit into the
final cut. The
$64-question of course, where can Lights
Over Montgomery County be seen? It's currently not available to stream anywhere. It's
tentatively scheduled to be released on Scareplex on Friday October 13th. Anything you can
tell us about audience and critical reception of Lights
Over Montgomery County? So far, the feedback has been mostly positive.
I always try to advise people to keep in mind that it's a very
micro-budget project that hasn't been funded by studio money, and that it
intentionally has a very dirty, gritty and raw feel to it. Any future projects you
want to share? I have, on average, about 9,753,676 thoughts
going through my head at any given time, so do I have one thing set in
stone right now? No. But Iam working on a short segment for an upcoming
anthology project for Hunter Nino at Horror Dadz
Productions. I also have
a podcast available (Hot Death Horror Podcast) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xl8_dbr7UY&list=PLzlbHX39qhjn-yP-cXB7rVIMPuwoBhS0z.
And I'm
currently writing something, but it's a ways from being put to film.
What got you into filmmaking in the first
place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject? I
absolutely love watching movies and TV
shows. Some people are car people, some are crafty, some like to hike and
be outdoors. I'm an entertainment guy. I love horror specifically, but I
can also be caught watching some rom-coms and food documentaries from
time to time. l've had zero formal training. I'm just learning as I go
and taking the advice of some awesome men and women I've met along the
way. Ash Hamilton, Dillon Brown [Dillon
Brown interview - click here], Mike Rock, Josh Brucker, Hunter Nino and
Bil Howard especially all hold a very special place in my heart for their
love and support. I can't speak highly enough about these people! What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Lights
Over Montgomery County? I have one other feature called
The Spoken that's available on
POV Horror and a few other apps in their catalog. It's not very good
though. It's my first attempt at filmmaking. Lol. How would you describe
yourself as a director? Very new, very eager and very open to
suggestion. I engage with all of the actors to gain their input in the
project.
Filmmakers who inspire you? Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith,
Horror Dadz
(Dillon Brown, Josh Brucker) and Bil Howard, to name a few.
There's tons of others that I admire a bunch also, but we'd be here all
day. Lol. Your
favourite movies? A Nightmare on Elm Street-series,"> A Nightmare on Elm Street-series,
Friday the 13th-series,
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Hateful
Eight, Holes in the Sky: The Sean Miller Story,
Alien Abduction:
Incident in Lake County, Devil's Weekend, Tahoe Joe. Like
I said, I'm a
movie guy, so I have a ton that I love. Those are just some that come to
mind right off the top of my head. ... and of course, films you really
deplore? I can't think of any that really fit that bill, but most
recently, I'd have to say The Wendigo and The Dark and the Wicked were
about as disappointing as rain on the 4th of July. Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else?
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I primarily hang around Facebook
and Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/fishtitteez
- that's my profile. https://www.facebook.com/groups/583921916578416/
- that's the horror group
that I run, it's also where I post about the podcast, production status
etc.
No websites, yet, that's coming soon with any luck.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14712264/
Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask? Not particularly. Just thank you for doing what you
do, providing great reviews on things we as fans may not have seen yet,
and allowing us little guys to have an opportunity to get eyes on our
stuff. Thanks for the
interview!
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