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Your new movie What
I Meant to Say Was ... - in a few words, what is it about?
It's about a guy who must go on an adventure in Hell to try to correct
the last text message he sent to his girlfriend just before dying.
What were your sources of inspiration when writing What
I Meant to Say Was ...? And is any of the movie based on text
messages you wish you would have sent?
Specific sources I don't think there were, but surely inspired by my
love of great 1980s horror/comedies like Ghostbusters
and things like
that... No, not based on any text messages I wish I would have sent. I'm
not really a texter. That's more my wife's department. She has
complained before about wishing I would reply more through texts, lol. Not
totally my style, I guess. Do talk about What
I Meant to Say Was ...'s very own depiction of Hell for a bit!
The depiction of Hell in the film carries a red tint over it. I just
liked the look and thought it was a good idea for the budget.
What
can you tell us about What
I Meant to Say Was ...'s brand of humour?
The humor of the film is pretty over the top. Not for the easily
offended, I guess you might say. However, if you find the humor in the
film offensive in any way, it's probably only coming from my character,
who's thought of as the idiot in the film anyway. And besides that,
it's probably not a big deal in Hell to be offensive, disrespectful, or
combative, I'd guess. I mean, it is Hell. ALso, if you let yourself get
offended by an over-the-top goofy comedy that's obviously not meant
to be taken seriously, then... hell, I don't know. As far
as I know, What I
Meant to Say Was ... is your first film as a writer/director after
having written several scripts for other filmmakers - so why did you pick
exactly this screenplay for your directorial debut?
I actually didn't plan on making this film myself at first. I had a
known horror director somewhat interested in doing it before deciding
not to. At first I was bummed about that, but very quickly then thought,
the film would be better if I made it myself anyway. That guy didn't
have the same love for the story as I did, or know it better, or
seen it like I did. There's no way he could. I wrote it. So, I
figured, no one could probably tell it better than me anyway -- the way
it should be told. So, I decided to direct.
A
few words about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand?
Well, my approach to directing was simple. It's a very small budget. So,
get 2 good takes and move on. That means, get really good actors who can
pull that off. Casting is the most important thing in my opinion. A
mistake I believe, other directors do is just stick anyone in a role to
fill it. My film might be low budget, might not be your cup of tea, but
at least the damn acting is good. You gotta give me that. I give most of
that credit to Kelly Strom, the casting director. Great casting director
and great lady. You
also appear in front of the camera in What
I Meant to Say Was ... - 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?
I didn't write the script thinking I was gonna be in the film. I don't
think of myself as an actor and I don't really have much interest in
acting again. I do think I did a pretty good job. I knew what that
character had to be and how he must act. If THAT character is played
wrong, the entire movie is bad. And I didn't think another actor
would get it. Not like that. That character couldn't just say his lines
normally. He had to be over-the-top without being too much. That's
not easy, and ultimately I came to the conclusion to do it myself. Do
talk about the rest of What
I Meant to Say Was ...'s key cast, and why exactly these people?
Most of the cast was obtained by Kelly Strom. There were also some
no-shows on the day of shooting, making us scramble for anyone, but you
get that with these micro budget indies sometimes. Steve Wandling
played the lead. He was just great in the role. I cold-messaged him on
Facebook, I believe because the original actor intended to play Michael
had to bail out about a week before shooting. So the fact that
Steve did as well as he did is just crazy. His love interest, played by
Zoe Scarborough, was also great. The chemistry between Steve and Zoe was
VERY good. Zoe was the best in the entire film and Steve was right
behind her. It felt very natural when you saw them on screen
together. Jae Grace as Carmeletta also did really well, especially if
you add in the fact that the actress that was supposed to play her part
(like the 3rd lead of the whole film) bailed out the day before
shooting. That was a major scramble. She had to learn all those lines in
one night. Amazing job. And Sheri Davis as Satan/Horny of course steals
the scene she's in. Not a huge screentime but an important one and an
important character.
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What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
The shoot was easy-going. I'm a pretty easy guy to get along with. I
don't discourage a little goofing around as long as it's not taken
overboard. And there was a lot of that on set. Just a lot of actors who
were happy to be there it seemed. At least, that's how I remember it. No
issues to speak of. The
$64-question of course, where can What
I Meant to Say Was ... be seen?
We're wanting a major streaming channel for this film, but we're also
happy to be on the lesser known ones that are growing right now. It's
currently live on Reveel. Tubi, Apple TV, Future
Today and Herogo have also selected the film to
be on their channels but the film is not on those outlets yet. And even
after selecting the film and it being delivered to them, they can still
decide to remove the film from selection even after showing prior
interest. Anything you can
tell us about audience and critical reception of What
I Meant to Say Was ...?
The film was never viewed by an audience. It's done okay with critics so
far. But I never expected this to be a critical darling. This isn't
the type of film that's gonna get outstanding critic reviews. This
is more for audiences. This isn't a run-of-the-mill type of film that
people are gonna kinda like. This is a love-it-or-hate-it type of film.
You're either gonna hate it and gladly never give it a second thought or
you're gonna really "get it" and love it and remember
this thing. Any future projects
you'd like to share? Future projects will hopefully be the slasher horror film Guard
Shack 17 that I wanna direct. And also, there's a comedy script
I'm looking to sell after winning a screenplay contest with it.
What got you into screenwriting to
begin with, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I've always really liked writing. I was more of a sports guy when I was
younger, but then I started writing. It comes pretty easy to me and I'm
a fast writer. I often hear other writers talking about writer's
block. I've never had that problem. My wife probably wishes I did, lol.
It takes up a lot of time and I've never been good at doing two things
at once. When I'm really into one thing, then THAT'S MY FOCUS. I gotta
get better at that. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to What
I Meant to Say Was ...?
Filmwork before this was pretty much strictly as a screenwriter,
but the directing bug has definitely bitten. It's like you need
more as a creator. Writing isn't enough now. How would you describe
yourself as a writer, and how as a director?
I think I'm a creative writer. Dialogue is my major strength. I usually finish
an entire 90 page script in two weeks. As a director, I'd be different
this time around. I would probably give my actors more and better
direction this time around. I think as a director I'm good at
researching and fixing issues on set quickly. I know what I want. And
I'll get, but I'm definitely open to suggestions on set. Writers,
filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you?
Spielberg's a big deal to me. Although, actors usually inspire me
the most. I'm more of a fan of actors than the creators. However, acting
isn't something I wanna do now. I'd definitely want to if I were a
younger man, but as the looks fade with age, I don't feel especially
confident in jumping in front of the camera. If you'll notice, in this
film, I had paint on my face.
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Your favourite
movies?
My top 5 favorite movies in order:
1) The Secret of My Success
2) Rocky
3) Titanic
4) Ghostbusters
5) Top Gun
See, told ya I love the 80s.
... and of course, films you really deplore?
To me, the worst movie of all time is Dune (1984). I watch this film
once every year to see if I can make it through the whole thing. I've
never gotten close. Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
No, nothing else to mention. You've pretty much covered it. Really great
questions. Thanks a lot! Thanks
for the interview!
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