This interview was taken by Father Gore aka Death Gore Machine.
This interview took place on 8th May 2009
1) Hello Todd. How are you today? What have you been upto?
I’m doing well! Stressed, but otherwise still pumped and completely psyched about the production! Been keeping busy on all levels really, and also prepping to shoot a 5 minute short film En Francais! in the next couple of weeks. I’m an Anglophone so this one should be really funny!
2) How did you become interested in film-making?
I first took interest in film when I was a kid after watching “The Exorcist”. That fuckin movie scared me so badly that I had to keep convincing myself that it was “just a movie!” From there I really sunk my mental teeth into Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN, which, to this day is still my all-time fav horror flick.
3) What would you say are your top 5 films of the past 10 years?
The past 10 years…Wow, I suck with dates, so how’s about I just randomly list off my fav flicks; King’s “Stand By Me”, Carpenter and Hill’s “H1, H2, H3 (yea, sue me, I loved that flick!), Friday The 13th, Swing Kids, “The Betty Page Story”, “Alien”, “The Exorcist 1, 3″, “Pumpkinhead”, Carpenter’s “The Fog”, ya know… I could go on. I have so many favs. “Debbie Does Dallas” was great also, but I only saw the climactic ending.
4) Stingy Jack is based on a “real” myth / legend. Is the footage on the Stingy Jack website genuine?
Yeah, Stingy Jack is definitely based on a legend of an Irish guy who drank excessively (surprise, surprise eh?), who made a deal with the Devil himself. Over time, the legend was basically absorbed by other cultures who base their Halloween celebrations on what is now known as the Jack O’ Lantern. The footage on the website is something I came across when researching the storyline for our film. Whether or not it’s authentic, I have no idea. Pretty cool to watch though!
5) During filming, did anything strange happen to anyone, on or off set?
We haven’t begun filming Stingy Jack yet, and only start in September. But I can predict all kinds of bad things happening – it’s film! LOL
6) How did you manage to get Kane Hodder and Charles Cyphers interested in Stingy Jack?
I have to say the story and script for SJ was what got their attention. It’s a damned good script. Original and really creepy! Kane got a message from a good friend of his one day and actually called me up to ask me about the production. We chatted about the story, his potential involvement, and before we knew it he was onboard. Charles Cyphers was a character that I really loved in Halloween; He’s the guy that made you feel safe. He was a Sheriff, and he had a gun, so any harm could be dealt with quickly. Right? Well, you know where I’m coming from. Charles is a great guy, and the role of Charlie Taggart was written FOR him, just as the role of Esther Fowler was written FOR P.J. Soles.
7) How do you feel about Stingy Jack being ‘compared’ to The Blair Witch Project?
They’re comparing it to The Blair Witch? Seriously? Man, that’s so cool! Actually, ya’ gotta’ admit, The Blair Witch was a genuis idea and concept. I wish I’d thought of it myself. Taking a marketing concept that seemed to work and applying it to another idea I don’t think is a bad move, I think it just opens up potential. Besides, I’d rather be compared to The Blair Witch than to something like Barney Goes To Camp.
You’ve apparently admitted to being influenced by Carpenters ‘The Fog’ and ‘Halloween’. Two very good films. Which do you prefer. and what do you think about the recent remakes of these films?
I prefer HALLOWEEN, only because I’m such a Halloween buff. I’m the forty-year old KID of the neighbourhood who still dresses up to scare the little kids. The music, and the way the film was shot has always affected me deeply.
9) You co-wrote Stingy Jack with Marie-Helena Tremblay. How long did it take to complete the final scripting?
The first draft was a breeze, and only took a few weeks. Once we had the basic concept on draft, we went over it again, and again, and again and made notes on how to improve the story. In the end, the script as it is right now took about 6 months. We didn’t want a copy-cat script or storyline, and wanted to make sure that our idea had never been done before.
10) What future projects have you got in mind? Does this involve a sequel to Stingy Jack?
There’s actually a prequel to Stingy Jack as well as a sequel. We had discussions with some of the larger studios who told us there was definitely a sequel and/or prequel to be had. Right now though, Marie-Helene is writing another creepy script with a really fucked up story. Scary as shit man, and definitely nightmare stuff.
11) Finally, anything else you want to add about Stingy Jack? any promotional info or film screen shots?
I do have some artwork and sketches that were done recently, one of which shows the FACE OF STINGY JACK, however, this one’s under wraps for now, and the only one’s who’ve actually seen what STINGY JACK looks like are the man playing him (Michael Berryman), and his agent. There’s a premier poster in the works that can be seen on our MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/stingyjackmovie
I thank you in advance for your time today. I hope Stingy Jack does well, and I will be buying it upon release.
My pleasure dude! Thank YOU for speaking to me!
Enjoy the rest of your day.
You too!
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