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Your new anthology A
Stab at Love - in a few words, what's it about?
A
Stab at Love
is an anthology film in the style of an old cheesy VHS
dating tape. Andrew Shearer made the wrap-around video as Chuck Dial,
the creator of the Stab at Love video dating system. Within the dating
tape are short films about love, murder, monsters, and more. The short
films were made by me, Tim Ritter, Ron Ford, Christopher Barnes and Joe Sherlock.
Now how did the project fall together in the first place, what was the idea
behind it? I ended up putting the anthology together after talking with Tim Ritter
and Ron Ford. I had the thought of doing the anthology in the style of a
dating video and brought it up to them. I then brought the idea to Joe
and Christopher Barnes, who were both in. Andrew was a natural choice for the host.
Do talk about the guest directors on A
Stab at Love for a bit, what did they bring to the table and what
were the guidelines you gave them? And how easy of hard was it to assemble
them even? Mainly, the other directors are friends of mine. They are
all great people who are dedicated and talented. I told everyone
that I wanted the theme revolve around love. I also wanted some
kind of creature or monster in each- or at least a horror element.
Everything came together easily aside from one segment. I had
several people who wanted to contribute a segment but then for
whatever reason they weren't able to. Luckily, Christopher's short
The Penance was already completed, never released, and perfect for the project.
So what can you tell us about the individual segments of your guest directors? Andrew Shearer made the wrap-around segment where he played the role of
the video host, Chuck Dial. Tim Ritter's segment is a cautionary tale
about cheating. Actually, Joe Sherlock's film is also a cautionary tale
about cheating. Ron Ford created a short film about a couple who
discovers Bigfoot out in the wild.
Let's get to your own segments, The Penance
and Monster Busters
for a bit - so what are they about?
I worked on The Penance, but it is actually Christopher Barnes' project.
It has elements of fantasy in it. It is about love gone wrong. It is
about a lover scorned and how she gets retribution, without seeking it,
with the help of a little magic. The segment that I made, Monster Busters, is about a married couple who are hosts of a cryptid research
show. Not all is as it seems though, as the audience finds out from some behind-the-scenes footage.
Were the two made specifically for A Stab at
Love or originally intended as standalone shorts that just happened to fit the bill?
Monster Busters was specifically made for A
Stab at Love. The Penance
was made earlier but never released. It just fit the theme perfectly. So what were your sources of
inspiration when writing both The
Penance and Monster Busters?
For The Penance, I really just followed Christopher's lead. The idea was
his. I tried to help out with whatever I could while keeping it within
the world he created. For Monster Busters I really wanted to
incorporate elements of a paranormal reality show with one of those
couples who flip houses reality shows. The twist is that the couple
really hates each other. That was where the idea started. You've
co-written and co-directed The
Penance with Christopher Barnes - so what was your collaboration
like? Christopher and I work really well together. It was really easy and fun.
Like I said, I just followed his lead on this one. I'd like to work with
him again on something like it. For Monster Busters
you've chosen the found footage route - so why is that, and what are some
of the advantages and challenges making a movie that way?
I felt like, for the humor to work in Monster Busters, the audience
would have to see some of the behind the scenes. I thought the best way
was to show the different takes of the scenes. Do
tak about Monster Busters's
brand of humour for a bit!
I think the humor in Monster Busters
comes from situational humor and personalities. It's the same kind of humor that you get from
mockumentary style projects.
The
Penance and Monster Busters
differ quite a bit in style and tone - was this at all a conscious
decision, or did it just happen that way?
Honestly, The Penance is very much Christopher's project including the
style and tone. Monster Busters
is more my style. I was trying to focus
more on the humor in that one. You also
appear in front of the camera in both The
Penance and Monster Busters
- so do talk about your respective characters for a bit, what did you draw
upon to bring them to life, and did you write them with yourself in mind
from the get-go? In Christopher had a character in mind for me and directed
me. For Monster Busters
I took inspiration from the hosts of HGTV house
flipper shows. I tweaked it a bit to make it my own, but that's where
the original inspiration came from.
What can you tell us about the rest of
your casts, and why exactly these people? The casts of both shorts are mostly people that I've worked with before.
You'll recognize actors from Manos Returns as well as some of Joe
Sherlock's films. When working with micro budget and zero budget films
you really have to find cast and crew that you know you can rely on. A
lot of times I also have people in mind when I write. For example, I
knew that I wanted Rachel Jackson as Jean for Monster Busters and wrote
it thinking of her. Do talk about
both shoots, and how did they compare? Christopher doesn't live too far from me. My husband and I would drive
up to his place for The Penance and shoot in his neighborhood. We shot
over a few different days. For Monster Busters, Rachel Jackson and I
drove to the location which was a few hours away. We had a tighter
schedule and shot everything in two days. The $64-question
of course, where can A Stab
at Love be seen? A Stab at
Love is premiering at Crypticon Seattle May 2-4.
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Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of A
Stab at Love yet? Not yet. Our premiere is in May.
Any future projects you'd like to share? I'm working on finishing up some older projects still. I also have a few
new projects coming up. They are at the early stages still though. Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else? I'm Tonjia Atomic on YouTube, Blue Sky, and Instagram. I've got trailers
and shorts on my YouTube page. Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask? Just that you can watch my films Manos Returns, Hobo with a Trash
Can and Plain Devil on multiple platforms online. Thanks for the
interview!
Thank You!
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