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About your recent photoshoot: Why did you pick the iconic
A Nightmare on Elm Street as its theme,
and what does
A Nightmare on Elm Street mean to you, both personally and
professionally?
In my home office right now in front of me is
an autographed picture of Robert Englund
as Freddy
Kruger [Robert Englund
bio - click here], a Freddy
Kruger poster, and a Freddy
Kruger toy. A Nightmare on Elm Street
was a series I grew up on. My family had TV time at night and
one of the shows we never missed was Freddy's Nightmares. Anytime one of
the movies was on TV we made an entire night out of watching it. Years
later when I was an outcast teen living in a small
rural religious town I had no friends and a ton of time on my
hands. I spent a lot of that time in a comic book store that sold movie
memorabilia. One day they put out a bunch of old screenplays one of which
was A Nightmare On
Elm Street. I had to have it. Since I was a child of a poor single mother, I did not
have the means to afford it. With a little wheeling and dealing I scrapped
up the money to buy it. I read the entire script in one day. That script
is what opened my eyes to becoming a director. In a lot of ways I owe what
I've become to that series.
In your shoot, how close did you remain
to the actual A
Nightmare on Elm Street-aesthetics, style-wise?
Very close. It was surprisingly easy for me too.
Growing up with the series it was really easy for me to just close my eyes
and put myself in that place. It was kind of like a guitar player paying
tribute to one of their favorite guitarist. You know all of the notes and
have even lifted them for your own material. Speaking
of the series, your favourite and least favourite
A Nightmare on Elm Street-movies?
My favorite story wise is A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream
Warriors. That one started as
Wes Craven's story and the script was reworked by Frank Darabont and Chuck
Russell. Put that in perspective. You have a horror icon forming the frame
work, an academy award winning filmmaker reworking the dialog and a top
level movie director telling the story. I'm also a huge fan of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
There is a great story about Renny Harlin being borderline homeless when
he took that movie. When it came out it was the number 1 movie that
weekend and the first call he got on Monday was Steven Spielberg. My least
favorite, other than the remake, is probably A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The
Dream Child. It
really is a good example of rushing into production on a movie that has
major script issues. They tried to overcome the script issues with a very
strong visual director but the outcome was a confusing
movie full of visual effects. My wife is more forgiving than me so she
still likes that one but I have to pass.
Carly Capra |
Your Freddy
Krueger is portrayed by Carly Capra - why her, and why did you
pick a woman for the role in the first place?
Carly is fantastic. She is an award winning actress
that has deep roots in horror. We've known of each other for a while and
we finally got to meet at
Texas
Frightmare Weekend. She was very humble and nice to talk to. This shoot
was originally just going to be done for the fun of it and kept a secret.
I picked a few people that would be more low key out for various reasons.
The funny thing is they dropped out and more high profile models came
forward including Carly and the shoot became what it is now. I had some
amazing choices to pick from but what set Carly apart was her roots in
horror. My actor cancelling policy is stricter than ever but I am still
happy it worked out the way it did.
The
idea behind a female Freddy
Kruger came years ago. I was listening to
Lacuna Coil - Heavens A Lie. It
got me thinking about the idea. Freddy
has always been more tempting than
the other icons. He loves the foreplay of the kill. It just seemed like a
natural fit to do something kind of dark and sexy with the themes of
Elm Street.
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Melody Young |
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Natalie Von Blair |
What can
you tell us about your other models, and why exactly them?
First
is Melody Young a super beautiful girl with talent to spare. She is a new
face that is just starting to break into the industry. I met her at a
restaurant through a friend and cast her as an extra on a project I just
wrapped. I was very impressed with her and wanted to get her in another
project so everyone else could see how talented she really is. This was
the next project and because of her exotic looks I thought she was a great
fit. Luckily I was right. The other model is Natalie Von Blair one of the
most in-demand models in
North Texas. Funny that the low key people dropped out and I end up with an in-demand
model that is at the top of the heap. She has a very soft look that is
very fitting for all types of projects. In this one I wanted her to play
the frail, innocent looking victim next to Melody's stronger, more exotic
persona. Both girls did a terrific job. I was filled with so much pride
and joy when we wrapped. They just blew me away with their beauty, talent,
and attitudes.
As
far as I know, you picked a supposed haunted house as the location for the
shoot - why there, and any spooky on-set stories? And based on your
experiences, would you ever shoot there again?
Yea the legendary Reindeer Manor in Red Oak
Texas. A 100 year old house that was part of a slaughter house operation. I
personally don't believe in ghosts so I have never had any weird
experiences there but I know there is a ton of history and documentation
to back the claims of its haunting. With
picking that place it was kind of like if I could not shoot there then I
would not have done it at all. The location is a character in itself. The
owner Jim is a wonderful man that has made it his life's mission to scare
the hell out of people. Not only would I shoot there again, I would
consider it an honor. I love that place and the staff. They are a fully
function haunted attraction during the Halloween season. If anyone is in
the area they need to check it out. This is not your average store front
haunted attraction with plywood walls. This place is epic and legit. So what
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
The atmosphere was electric. The models had amazing
chemistry and honestly no one wanted to leave when we were done. My make
up artist was Mandy Ochs and she was in top form. My wife was on set too,
who is my best friend so it really just felt like a bunch friends playing
make believe. After we wrapped me and my wife celebrated with a 6 pack of
one of our favorite micro craft beers, Revolver Blood and Honey. What more
could you ask for? A day of being creative and paying tribute to one of
your biggest inspirations with amazing people and your best friend. The
big question of course, where can the photos from this shoot be seen?
https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.campbell.58555/media_set?set=
a.663877860332630.100001312673457&type=3
- we took a ton but these are our top picks. Any
future projects you'd like to talk about?
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Wow I have been busy. I just wrapped a romantic teen
comedy called One Perfect Night. A far cry from my usual stuff but I loved
making it and had a brilliant cast and crew. That movie includes some
fresh new faces that I think people are going to see a lot more of in the
near future. Velvet Vengeance, my first feature film, has a screening coming
up in late August as a part of San Antonio
Horrific Film Fest. We are bringing our killer Dolly with us and one of
the stars of the movie Gerald Crumb. The entire fest is a blast but we
plan on being the highlight. Another project that I am currently working
on is a screenplay called Born To Lose, Play To Win, a very romantic,
sexy action film. We are developing that project right now and talking
with potential talent. Last I
am considering a few more horror themed photo shoots to pay tribute to the
movies that inspired me but nothing is set in stone with those yet.
Thanks for the interview!
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