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Your new movie
Super Happy Fun Clown - in a few words, what's it about?
Super Happy Fun
Clown is about feeling as though one hasn't lived up to expectations that were
placed on them by others. I also think there's a little bit of a
statement about modern times - the blurring of the line between being famous and infamous.
Now fear of clowns is not exactly an uncommon thing - so what
can you tell us about your personal relationship to clowns, and how has
this influenced your script?
I know that the fear of clowns is common, but it is not one I
possess. Like most men I don't like to admit weakness, but
claustrophobia is my thing. Neil Marshall's brilliant The
Descent is the most scary movie for me. In 2023, you wrote and
produced a short also called Super Happy Fun Clown - so how are
the two films related? I wrote the short version of Super Happy Fun Clown as an
experiment in writing something with no dialogue. I only speak English
and German, so I wanted to write something with no language barrier
that could play around the world. And it did! I'm not always inspired
to write, but I was quickly inspired to expand the short version into
a full-length feature. (Other) sources of inspiration when writing
Super Happy Fun
Clown? As filmmakers, I feel that the movies we create can be influenced by
many of the films we've seen over the course of our lifetimes. That
being said, the two movies that most directly influenced
Super Happy Fun
Clown are Pearl and Starry Eyes. I've
seen Super Happy Fun
Clown compared to both Falling
Down and Joker (2019).
I love both of those movies, but they weren't at the front of my mind
when writing Super Happy Fun
Clown. What can you tell us about your
film's approach to horror? Much like our previous movie, I Am Lisa, I think the horror is
psychological because our main character's situations are relatable. I Am
Lisa is about a survivor's struggle, and as I mentioned before Super Happy Fun
Clown is about the fear of failure.
What were the challenges
of bringing Super
Happy Fun Clown to the screen from a producer's point of view?
Raising funds is often a challenge for filmmakers, whether indie or
big-budget Hollywood flicks. But our producers from I Am Lisa were
happy with its success and believed in
Super Happy Fun
Clown as
well. Other than that one of the most difficult things was securing
the haunted house attractions the script required. I have only myself
to blame for that! Do talk about
Super Happy Fun
Clown's director Patrick Rea [Patrick
Rea interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like? Patrick is very talented and levelheaded -- which comes in handy on
set! I really feel honored to work with him. I was kind of surprised
to learn that screenwriters aren't always on set because I'm there for
every scene. Granted, I'm the lead producer, but Patrick and I
constantly bounce ideas off each other. Patrick is a student of
Academy Award-winner Kevin Willmott. He didn't have to take me under
his wing when we made I Am Lisa, but he did. I'm so grateful
for Patrick! You've worked with Patrick Rea before - so
what can you tell us about your previous collaborations?
I Am Lisa is a werewolf revenge flick that came out in 2020.
Our first assistant director told me I learned more in three weeks of
shooting that movie than he did in four years of film school. It
taught me the ropes, but I think each new film is a learning
experience. It's really fantastic that the movie has been so
well-received! What can you tell us about
Super Happy Fun
Clown's cast, and as writer/executive producer, how much say did
you have or demand when it came to casting?
Patrick and I make the casting decisions together. The lead role of
Super Happy Fun
Clown was
written specifically for Jennifer Seward (she also played the role in
the short film). I admittedly place a lot of weight on the shoulders
of our lead actors, and she was courageous in taking her psyche to
dark places to accomplish what she did. Much like in Starry Eyes, I
wanted the audience to question whether they should be rooting for her
or not. We like strong female characters, so Nicole Hall played the
lead detective. As Nicole tells us behind the scenes, "Put a leather
jacket on me, and I'm a police officer!" Deborah Madick played the
mother and made her appropriately odious. Matt Leisy ("Detective
Barnes") is a super-talented performer. To know Matt Leisy is to love
Matt Leisy. A few
words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? We're a pretty tight-knit, family-like group, so it was mostly fun,
much like the title suggests. Most of us have worked together before.
On top of that Patrick strikes a great balance between having fun on
set and getting things done on time.
The $64-question of course, where can
Super Happy Fun
Clown be seen?
As of right now it is only available to stream on our distributor's
(The Horror Collective) streaming service, BloodStream
- https://bloodstreamtv.com/show-details/super-happy-fun-clown-extras. You can also
purchase a digital copy of the movie on Amazon. However, it will be
coming to many more platforms this spring, and there will also be a
physical media release.
Any future projects you'd
like to share? We are about to start shooting a stoner comedy/horror movie that I
can't reveal too many details about. Its main inspiration is movies
like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and Shaun of the Dead. Needless
to say, we're all VERY excited about it. I've also got sequels to
Super Happy Fun
Clown and I Am Lisa ready to go, so I hope that
one day we'll get to make them! What got you into screenwriting in
the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I've always been a writer. I remember winning writing awards in first
grade. I worked for many years at The Kansas City Star, the major
metro newspaper here in town. I think it was a bit of a midlife crisis
when I decided to take up screenwriting (about 10 years ago when I was
40 years old). I have no formal training in screenwriting, so I would
say I had a crash course. My mentor is Jimmy "The Scriptbutcher"
George (WNUF Halloween Special). He eviscerated my early
versions of what became I Am Lisa, but it made me a better
writer. I refined the script for three years before we started
shooting. Do talk about your filmwork prior to
Super Happy Fun
Clown! Both of my sons (now 17 and 19 years old) are actors, so that was my
introduction to being on set and backstage. I Am Lisa was my
first time producing a movie I'd written. There's been a few shorts.
Though I'm still all over the place and very active while we're
shooting (I often act as the script supervisor as well), I've learned
that I can delegate and don't have to make myself more crazy than I
already am.
How would you describe yourself as
a screenwriter? Selfish, and I don't mean that in a bad way! I have a silly and
macabre sense of humor. Laughter is so cathartic! I love making people
(and myself) laugh. I love telling a good story. I love it when people
see things in my writing that I had never even considered. Ultimately
I like to write things that I find interesting, and I hope others find
something unique in my writings that amuses them.
Writers, producers, filmmakers,
whoever else who inspire you? Much like Patrick, I'm
a child of the 80s. We were heavily influenced by filmmakers like Paul
Verhoeven, John Carpenter and James Cameron. Since I've been making films
I've come to appreciate Robert Rodriguez and Clint Eastwood more than I
already did because they're known for their efficiency. I respect that! Your favourite
movies? Not surprisingly, RoboCop (1987), The
Empire Strikes Back, Fright Night (1985),
anything Arnold Schwarzenegger and/or James Cameron did in the 80s, Back
to the Future, Dirty Harry, etc. My favorite
movie that I've seen in the last year was We Bury the Dead,
which I thought was beautiful on all fronts. ... and of course, films you really
deplore? There are films I despise, and I would reveal them privately, but
unfortunately I have to say "no comment." I find it really irritating
when artists (especially ones of great stature like Martin Scorsese
and Quentin Tarantino) feel the need to disparage others' work. Just
like the rest of us, this business (and this world) owes them nothing.
I can find something I appreciate in almost every movie I
watch, and even if I don't, I respect the fact that a lot of people
worked really hard to make that movie a reality. As my mentor Jimmy
George always says, "It's a miracle to even finish a movie."
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Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else? We're across the socials via my company's name, @FeedTheQueenLLC Anything else you're dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I said this at most of the screenings for Super Happy Fun
Clown: Don't buy into the lie that your value as a human being is directly
proportional to the size of your house or bank account. Follow your heart and you'll find happiness!
Thanks for the interview! Gern geschehen! (My pleasure!) |
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