He made my job easy by giving some great answers...And we're off....
Tell me a little bit about yourself. When did you catch the film bug?
When I was a kid my Dad would show me Creature of the Black Lagoon and The Wolfman and other films on his projector. It was mesmerizing to me. My whole family loves movies so it has always been a big part of my life. After high school I needed to make the big decision on what to do and making films was the goal. I attended some photography classes first to help understand lighting and composition then since I lived right down the street form The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston I attended some film classes there. I was introduced to art house and after that I just never stopped thinking about cinema.
Which Filmmaker or Filmmakers have had the greatest influence on you and Why?
Dario Argento, he showed me that horror is art. I also love Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, David Lynch, Roman Polanski, and recently Bela Tarr. All these filmmakers make films that I feel speak to me. It's hard for me to explain but when I watch their work I feel something.
How did Under The Dark Wing come about?
I had been watching a lot of Bergman, Bela Tarr, and reading about the philosophy of death. I wanted to play off of my upcoming feature film A Life Not To Follow and do something different with the crime/noir type of setting. I also have been wanting to make films that are more personal to me. One part of this film is about life and death. At a young age it's something that I had been thinking about and have been exploring more as I've gotten older. I have a lot of feelings about it that I can't express and filmmaking let's me do that. Then I went to Pedro Alvarado. He liked the idea so we worked on the script.
Talk about the casting process.
I knew I wanted to cast David Graziano as George. I had him in mind the whole time. David is great to work with and I knew he would nail the part. Fiore Leo and I have been working together for a long time now and again he is such a talented person and I can trust him. With Keith Bennett he has the look I needed. The character he was playing was all about presence. Also he's so fun to have on set and really works hard. For the lead girl Jessy Rowe that was the tough part. My producer Skip Shea and I went through a lot of people. Then one day Jessy showed up. I audition her and in the middle of the audition I knew she was the girl. She works very hard, she gets a lot for her age, and is very professional. She was fantastic to work with. The whole cast is. I was a lucky director on this one.
Tell us about the best and worst day on set
No bad days. This was such an amazing shoot to be on. Everyone came to set happy and prepared to work hard. It was an all around great team effort. One of my favorite days was shooting in the field. There used to be a children's mental hospital there that had stories only horror movies could tell. Making a film about death I thought there is no better place to shoot. Our DPs Nolan Yee and Alex Huang did a wonderful job on that scene. If we had a behind the scenes video you would see the great teamwork from both of them
What's the reaction been like to the film? Was it always meant to be open to interpretation? Why did you decide to shoot in Black and White?
It has been great! I can't wait to see what the festivals think. We did a lot of subtle things and people are picking up on it. I've received a ton of positive feedback.
I really like films that are open to interpretation. As the viewer I feel I can make it personal to me by adding my own ideas... so in a way, yes it is open to interpretation. Also the subject matter we use to make the film is an open kind of topic. I just really love black and white and have been wanting to make a film that whey for a long time. One of my first films was shot in 16mm B & W and that was a long time ago. This project seemed like the right fit for it.
What's your opinion about the state of the industry? Trends like 3-D or IMAX and the fact that say R-rated horror is almost never released in theaters instead things get watered down for a PG-13 crowd.
I hate 3-D but think It's cool for kids. You do need to keep pushing the envelope. Maybe in 20 years a new kind of 3-D will come out that we all feel we can't live without. Who knows. I understand why they do it and agree with it. For now I love watching films the old way. Hollywood thinks they need to keep making watered down PG-13 films so they can get as much money as they can. What they don't realize is by doing this they cut off people like me. I find it hard to watch a lot of those films. They found a big niche audience. I wish they would make some of their watered down films because why not? Some people do like them and not every film is going to be for you. Then put some money into filmmakers and give them the freedom to make his or her film. Steven Soderbergh gave a great talk on the state of the film industry last year at a film festival in San Francisco. You can find it on online. Every filmmaker should watch it. Hollywood's numbers don't always match up and there seems to be a difference of opinion with the filmmakers and fans wanting one thing and the studios thinking they want another. I'm not a anti Hollywood person, I just don't have much interest in what they make lately. It's not for me. But that's one of the reasons I wanted to make films. To make films I want to see.
If you had the chance to remake any film you wanted which one would you tackle and why?
The Devil Rides Out. Terence Fisher did a great job with it. But it would have been a classic now if it wasn't for the bad special FX. I read an interview with Christopher Lee saying he wanted to re-make it and he's at the right age now to play the role he did back then. So Mr. Lee if you read this I'll be happy to direct this one!!! LOL.
What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?
Find out if this is really your passion and find out what you really want to do in film. Maybe you're a better writer and shouldn't direct. Maybe you are both! Then never give up and don't listen to anyone but you! Only you know what to do with your life and your films.
Your chance to say anything else.
Thank you so much for the interview!
You are most welcome! Be sure to check out Under the Dark Wing's Facebook page, The Creepy Kid Productions Website, and Chris' twitter feed. I am sure Christopher and I will stay in touch. He made A Life Not to Follow with the same team. The crime drama will release in 2014.
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