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Your upcoming movie Manos Returns - in a few words, what is
it about?
It
follows a group of young would-be filmmakers who learn their favorite
movie, Manos:
The Hands of Fate, is based on a true story. They set
out to visit the site of the events that inspired the original and of
course they find more than they bargained for. Basic question, why make a sequel to the
almost 50 year old Manos:
The Hands of Fate? For
one thing, it always bugged me that there is a question mark at the end of
Manos:
The Hands of Fate. Dad has stayed private
all these years but has enjoyed connecting with fans through me.
They have always been gracious, loving and supportive of us and all
the other Manos projects I’ve connected with since
Manos:
The Hands of Fate was introduced
to the world on January 1993. When
dad agreed to step in front of the camera as The Master at 80 years old,
all the pieces just organically fell into place as if The Will of Manos
had a hand in it. It’s
happening because the right group of people came together and decided to
make the best fan film our talents and the money we raise can make. We
are creating a new project with a fun story and that includes people from
the original film. We want to
honor them so they can bask some in the love that is Manos
and so they can
finally get paid something for the fame it has enjoyed for so many years. Other sources of inspiration
when dreaming up Manos Returns? Manos
Returns is a tongue in cheek comedy horror with emphasis on comedy in a
similar vein of ridiculousness that Abbott and Costello and possibly
Scooby Doo portray. How closely will
you want to stick to the original Manos:
The Hands of Fate stylistically? Not
at all, really. We can’t
possible compete with what makes Manos:
The Hands of Fate unique and wonderful and we have no
intention of making a bad film. I’ve
studied the Manos
phenomenon and culture for a long time and I don’t
believe anyone can capture that particular bit of magic anyway.
Jackey with Tonjia Atomic |
What can you
tell us about your director Tonjia Atomic [Tonjia
Atomic interview - click here], and what makes her perfect for the
job? I
love Tonjia’s unconventional storylines and the uninhibited directing
style that put her actors at ease while presenting a compelling story to
the audience. Since working
closely on the planning of Manos Returns for several months we’ve
discovered deep mutual respect and styles that mesh seamlessly.
I am very excited to work with her on the set. Will you also appear in front of the camera in Manos
Returns, and if so, do talk about your character for a bit! Yes.
I get to play the character of Debbie, the little girl, 50 years
later. She has been mistress
of the house for some time and as you can imagine that after living with
that bunch all that time, she’s not the most pleasant person.
I get to dig out my dark side and plan to enjoy it. What
can you tell us about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people? We
are bringing the original Sheriff's son in to play the Sheriff.
Bryan Jennings who resembles his dad is perfect for the part and
we’re hoping to have Diane Mahree who played my mother Maggie in the
1966 film. We are recreating
the soundtrack and including a rerecording of “Forgetting You” with
the original vocalist, Nicki Mathis. We also have George Stover of Alien
Factor fame. Otherwise we’re still in the casting stage of much of the
film, although we certainly have a wish list. How much we can do, of
course will depend on budget and our Kickstarter funding. As
far as I know, you're currently running a fundraiser for Manos Returns
- so do talk about your campaign for a bit?
As
of this writing, we are on our fourth day of a 31 day campaign.
We are 40% funded for our base goal of $24,000.00 and #8 most
popular current Kickstarter in the Film category.
The outpouring of support through backers and words of
encouragement through social media is just surreal for me and I am so
incredibly appreciative of this opportunity to make this movie for all of
us. We have a long way to go
to raise enough though. Our
base goal will get our movie made but for our dream movie we’ll need
more and I’m hoping that our supporter agree and that we can get the
word out to enough people to help us make that happen. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/
1840778752/manos-returns Once the
funds are raised, what's the schedule? And any idea when the film might be
released onto the general public, however tentatively? We’ve
done a lot of preliminary work so we expect to jump right in once we have
funds to work with. Basically
we are following the original Manos:
The Hands of Fate schedule of filming in Spring/Summer
2016 and expect to be ready to premiere our first screening on the 50th
anniversary of the original Manos:
The Hands of Fate The Hands of Fate premiere. November 15,
2016.
Let's
return to the original Manos:
The Hands of Fate: You were still quite young when this was
filmed, so how do you remember this experience?
Besides
being an extraordinarily observant human for my whole life, I remembered
and cultivated my memories of Manos:
The Hands of Fate the way anyone would remember a
significant childhood event and the summer before I entered second grade
was a magical time that I got to spend with my daddy.
I’ve also had a number of opportunities over the years to talk
with other original cast and crew and compare notes and recently spent 16
months writing, researching and discovering long lost people for my book Growing Up With Manos The Hands Of Fate, which is being published by
Bear Manos Media and will be available very soon. How does
it actually make you feel to watch Manos:
The Hands of Fate nowadays? It
gets easier and easier. When I
first got my bootleg VHS of MST3K’s version, I watched it once by myself
and put it away. I still
don’t watch it much and only with people who already get it.
I hate being challenged to explain the movie, the pop culture fame,
and why it’s called the worst movie ever.
I really enjoyed watching it with my dad for the commentary on the restoration Blu-ray. That was
the first time we had seen it together since 1966 and we didn’t talk
about it back then. No one
did. Manos:
The Hands of Fate was produced rather on the cheap, so I guess
nobody had particularly high hopes for it - so how do you explain the
movie's longevity?
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Jackey with Tom Neyman |
Manos:
The Hands of Fate seems to strike a chord with all creative minded folk.
Everyone can relate to Hal's dream of seeing his project to the end
but no one can really figure out what in Manos' name he was thinking at
every step of the way. It’s so puzzling too that a whole group of
intelligent people went along and yet we all imagine you go down any road
one step at a time. No one
thought they were making a good movie but at first they hoped it would at
the least lead to something else worthwhile. What can you tell us about your life
since Manos: The
Hands of Fate, and did you at all have aspirations to become an
actress to follow up on the movie? I
continued acting through high school and then made a very clear decision
that as a career choice art had more opportunities so I went the art
direction. I created custom
hand painted silk and cotton clothing and then a 25 year career doing high
end faux finishes, Venetian plasters and murals for home and commercial
clients. When Manos:
The Hands of Fate started getting attention, I made a hobby of seeking
out Manos Mythology and clarifying the stories people were telling.
In the process I’ve connected with nearly every Manos project
from being the voice of Debbie in the Portland Oregon stage production to
traveling as a special guest to screenings of the Restoration.
I’ll even be a celebrity guest at Crypticon Seattle 2016.
I’ve made fantastic friends along the way and have had the chance
to live nearly every dream I had for myself.
Now I get to be an actress in a Manos
inspired film with my dad.
Full circle in a good way. Filmmakers,
actresses, whoever else who inspire you? I
am inspired by strong women who hold their own elegantly and with great
humor. Betty White,
Penny Marshal, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Bernadette Peters to name only a
few. Your favourite
movies? I
love movies with a great story. I
can’t give an accurate view of movie I watch because, like music, my
taste changes day to day and so today’s won’t be tomorrow.
Ones that pop in my mind are Second Hand Lion, Life of Pi, Big
Fish. ... and of course, films you really deplore?
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Birdemic
is so intentionally bad I find it insulting.
Curse
of Bigfoot - I was in it as
an extra when I was in high school in 1976 but I’ve never been able to
watch the whole thing. In
fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been more than 5 minutes past the
classroom scene I was in and that was early in the film.
That one is way worse than Manos:
The Hands of Fate.
Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
www.ManosReturns.com
On
Facebook ManosReturns
www.DebbiesManos.com
On
Facebook DebbiesManos
debbiesmanos.blogspot.com
Thanks
for the interview!
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amazon.com
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amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Jackey Neyman Jones at adultvideouniverse.com
