I
am sort of a jaded shit when it
comes to horror - so for me to
see a slew of shorts that makes
me want to run through the
streets wearing a sandwich board
and ringing a bell is a pretty
big fucking deal. Christopher
Alan Broadstone's work made me
(well, almost) do just that. I
caught his three multi-award
winning shorts 'My Skin' ,
'Scream for Me' , and 'Human No
More' and was AMAZED, AGAPE, and
generally in AWE of this man's
talent behind the camera - the
cinematography, the music, the
ideas, the acting - it all came
together in a way that rarely
happens in short film and when
that happens 3 out of 3 times you
know there's a unique and
incredible talent involved. I
went to his website www.blackcabproductions.com
and contacted him pronto for an
interview.
I am beyond thrilled that right
has triumphed and Christopher is
set to direct his first horror
feature called 'Retard' based on
his own screenplay. He has also
released his first horror novel
called 'Puzzleman'. This guy is
the real deal & a whole lot
more - read on and hear the
future of horror. 1) Okay,
first off Christopher I think we
should start the www.racksandrazors.com readers
out with a visual and describe
the room where you're answering
these questions?
Lots
of high tables with six chairs
each, three per side; wall-length
multi-paned windows; a
glass-paneled garaged door with a
patio beyond; a large L-shaped
bar to my left; chips and salsa,
the smell of Mexican food and
margaritas. I'm sitting in the
cantina at Chevy's restaurant in
Burbank, passing time between
seeing MISSION IMPOSSILE III and
POSEIDON.
2)
Let me just say I saw 'My
Skin', 'Human No
More', & 'Scream
For Me' and LOVED THEM!
It was all just fantastic work! I
was absolutely amazed at the
sheer horror you are able to
generate in those shorts. As a
man adept at directing, writing,
and editing, what do you see as
the most essential for you in
creating fear?
Getting
inside of the viewer by sucking
them into the characters and
action unfolding on screen. To
accomplish that I use every
available element I can: firstly,
the writing and story, then the
dialogue and acting, the camera
and lighting, and the environment
and action relative to character
and story. There I make full
circle, of course, and then it
all comes down to three things
for me: editing,
color-correction, and audio.
Rhythmic, well-timed editing can
make a great performance a
masterpiece and turn tension and
action/violence into sheer poetry
of movement and moment. The
color-correction also serves to
bolster the poetry and maintain
the moment by further solidifying
the environment. When I watch one
of my films I want to be taken
somewhere else and trapped there
until the end credits roll; and
even then, for me, the credits
should polish out the entire film
by proper rhythm of text played
against music until the screen
finally goes black. The
audio/soundtrack, of course, is
as important as everything that
comes before it in creating and
sustaining story, performance,
environment, and action. From my
perspective it really does take
everything - from the first word
of the script to the very last
music/audio cue - to create an
unnerving, tense, and/or
terrifying moment on film.
3)
Sound is also SUCH a huge part of
your films. Care to comment?
I think I
just did! Even so, audio has
always been very important to me.
I was a professional musician for
quite a long time, first playing
with my band ABOUT 9 TIMES and
then THE JUDAS ENGINE. I'm no
stranger to the studio
environment, and I believe that
experience has made all the
difference in the quality of the
audio for each of my films. But I
can't take all the credit for the
soundtracks of SCREAM FOR ME and
MY SKIN, which were expertly
assembled by Post Sound
Supervisor Enzo Treppa, and
wonderfully mixed by veteran
re-recordist Marty Hutcherson.
Also, I have to point out the
great music of Ugly Mus-tard in
SCREAM FOR ME and the potent
score by Brian Sussman for MY
SKIN. Brian also wrote and
performed the music for HUMAN NO
MORE, which I really love. The
end credit track, however, is I
AM A WALL, written and recorded
previously by my band THE JUDAS
ENGINE. As for all the other
audio you hear in HUMAN NO MORE,
I actually can take credit,
because I did all the production
recording, Foley recording, sound
effects editing, and mixing
myself.
4)
A theme in all 3 of your shorts
was that of "the crazed
watcher" - that even in our
secretive moments we're being
observed by some fierce force.
How do you think that plays into
your overall themes and/or
philosophy of life?
I'd
say it plays strongly into most
of my themes, which tend to be
victim driven instead of hero
driven. In many ways I feel like
there's always something watching
me or screwing with me, something
beyond my power to control, but
something that has the power to
control or destroy me - all of
which seems to find it's way into
the minds of my characters or
themes in general. Maybe I'm just
overly sensitive to fate and what
usually appears to be the
senseless suffering so many have
to endure. Even so, whether it's
fate or God or the absence of God
or simply entropy, I do believe
that most people create the bulk
of their own problems. I know I
create most of mine, in spite of
my best intentions. But in this
way others and myself are again
victims. Victims victimized by
their own selves. Not necessarily
a good thing, but a reality
nonetheless.
5)
So tell me about how you got into
directing...how did that pursuit
come about?
About
eleven years ago I moved to L.A.
with my band, THE JUDAS ENGINE.
Although TJE had a CD under its
belt, was playing gigs regularly,
and had a new demo recorded, it
was abruptly murdered by
circumstances about eight months
after our arrival in California.
I was suddenly a lost soul and
too burned out to pursue music
anymore. My only opportunity lay
in some good luck I'd had in
meeting two professional film
producers. They read the
unpublished manuscript of my
novel, PUZZLEMAN, liked the
story, and wanted to get it into
script form ASAP. I took the
challenge and launched into an
endless screenplay writing
exercise that eventually went
nowhere. I could never please two
producers of different minds and
myself as well. I also wrote a
second feature, LOVE ME, based on
an old short story I'd written
many years before, but was nearly
thrashed to death on that with
the first draft. It was then that
I realized the only way anyone
was ever going to take my
cinematic visions seriously, or
even understand them, was if I
took control and made a film
myself. My first choice was
SCREAM FOR ME, based on another
of my short stories - a little
tale that people either loved or
absolutely hated. I had quite a
bit to prove to the world, as
well as to myself, so I wanted to
shoot a movie that broke rules.
In the case of SFM, that meant
dealing with controversial
subject matter, nudity, sexual
violence, excessive language,
back-to-back monologues, a
one-room location, and a lead
character that constantly wore
reflective mirror sunglasses.
Most all of those challenges are
considered really bad luck for a
first-time filmmaker.
6)
Do you think people who knew you
as a kid would be surprised or
not shocked at all to discover
you're directing and writing
horror today?
I
think even my parents are
surprised, and they've known me
my whole life. When I was young I
never watched horror and what I
did see scared me so much I could
barely watch it with my hands
over my eyes. But I came to
realize something about myself;
about the time I turned 21, that
my brain is simply a very grim,
cynical dark place. There's just
something that fascinates me
about the macabre underbelly of
life - or maybe it's not as much
of a fascination as a warped
addiction to the how and why of
it all. If it was up to me it
would be thunder storming
everyday, and I'd happily observe
the wicked world from the highest
tower of my castle before
descending into my dungeon for a
day's exploration of the deepest
horrors humanity has devised -
and try to understand them by
living through them with writing
and/or filmmaking. And having
said that, I don't really
consider my films horror films -
at least not by typical genre
standards. I don't even find my
films scary, nor do I try to make
them scary. I'm usually trying to
get at a dark truth, theme, or
philosophy inside of me and
externalize it through writing a
novel, screenplay, or directing a
film. If some people are scared
or unnerved by what oozes from my
morbid imagination, well...what
can I say? Cool! In all truth
though, I think if Edgar Allan
Poe was alive today, he'd be
writing stories and making films
like mine. Poe stories don't
scare me, but they put me on edge
- get under my skin and infuse my
subconscious - while at the same
time being poetic and dark as
hell.
7)
When you sit down to begin
penning a screenplay what usually
lies at the core of your creative
spark - is it the character, the
plot, a vision, the theme, the
mood, does it vary or is there
something else entirely?
It's
really all of the above, but in
no particular order. What I
usually do is begin with a title
I like, or a bit of writing, or
notes on a possible scene or
character portrayal that inspires
me. Then I use that as
nourishment to feed the beliefs
and concepts I find within
myself, or sometimes it works
best visa versa - I use my
personal philosophies to nurture
the story and/or characters. But
whatever the case, it's these
elements that ultimately become
the seeds of my stories. If I'm
lucky, these seeds will take root
and demand I grow them into a
fully fleshed-out character,
script, film, or novel. Now
having said all that, a large
part of my creative process is
ultimately an attempt to not only
entertain myself, but to seduce a
viewer or reader onto the roller
coaster ride of thought,
sentience (be it laughter, tears,
or terror), and catharsis.
8)
I also want to hear about your
debut novel (horror naturally) 'Puzzleman'.
Can you give the readers at www.racksandrazors.com a teaser
that will make the book
irresistible and follow it up
with some info about where they
can purchase 'Puzzleman' ?
PUZZLEMAN
is certainly the most difficult,
tedious, and endless project I've
ever worked on. Many, many years
in the making. It started out to
be merely a 100-page novella, but
once I started writing, it
exploded into what became nearly
a 1000 page manuscript. The
historical section was also twice
as long. Over the years of
rewriting, I was able to better
develop and tighten the story,
eventually trimming those 1000
pages of madness down to what I
hope is a solid, well focused 400
pages. The writing of this book
definitely required a lot of
nurturing and evolution over
time. Also, one of my original
concepts for PUZZLEMAN was to
tell a story that started very
small, with simply the dialogue
of a couple faceless characters
catalyzing the events to come,
and then quickly expanding the
story to include several more
characters with different
outlooks and pasts, and then to
tie them all together in a tale
that would grow to encompass
mysteries, truths, and dangers
that approached an almost
universal scale. But at the same
time I wanted all of that to be
unfolding just below the surface
of what all of us call everyday
life. Kind of like a shark
swimming with its fin just
beneath the water. The surface
appears normal and calm to our
eyes, but just below, just out of
sight, immense danger is lurking
and could strike at any moment. I
think most people don't realize
just how precarious their life,
lifestyles, and world are. But
enough philosophizing! I really
hope more and more people will
read PUZZLEMAN. I think it's got
a lot to say, but is very
entertaining as well. To learn
more about PUZZLEMAN and to buy
the book, I recommend going
directly to my site at the link
below. It's the fastest cheapest
way to get the book. http://blackcabproductions.com/WordsPuzzpage.html
Or, if anyone would like to pay a
couple dollars more and get a
money back guarantee go to
Shocklines.com at http://store.yahoo.com/shocklines/punobychalbr.html
9)
I am so excited that you're
finally going to be directing the
feature 'Retard'
from your own award-winning
screenplay. Are you intent on
maintaining as much control over
the project as possible?
I certainly
hope to maintain as much hands-on
as I can, otherwise people aren't
going to get what they're already
expecting from me. RETARD is with
Christopher Webster (Exec. Prod.
HELLRAISER I & II, Prod.
SEVERED TIES, CHILDREN OF THE
NIGHT) and he has no qualms about
me directing and controlling the
final edit. That's a great
compliment and shows a great
confidence in my abilities. But
he's also seen my development,
and success, over three short
films and now knows I have a
vision that is better nurtured
than tampered with.
10)
What is the most valuable lesson
you have learned from directing
shorts that is going to come in
handy when it comes to making the
feature film leap?
Steal
as much time as you can for
pre-production, production, and
post-production. Also, if you
don't have time to shoot a shot
exactly the way you planned,
shoot it anyway you can with
whatever you can.
11)
And what do you foresee as the
greatest challenge after
previously doing only shorts?
12)
Do you have any other upcoming
projects you would care to tell
the www.racksandrazors.com readers
about?
Besides
shooting RETARD (hopefully sooner
than later), I'm currently
putting together elements and
loads of extras for a triple
feature DVD containing all three
of my films, to be titled 3 DEAD
GIRLS. I hope to have the project
completed and available by
October. I'm also about 300
manuscript pages into writing
another novel called HEATHER'S
TREEHOUSE. It isn't nearly as
complex of a story as PUZZLEMAN,
but it's definitely as visceral
and graphic. It should be a fun
read, if I can ever get the time
to finish it. Speaking of which,
I'm also about 60 pages into a
shorter novel I plan to call M,
which is a very personal story
and is written in first person
with a stream of conscious feel
to it - definitely very different
from PUZZLEMAN or HEATHER'S
TREEHOUSE. There are a couple
children's stories I'd like write
too. And the project list goes
on. There's lot's and lot's to do
before I drop dead.
13)
Okay - we're pulling the car into
the Christopher Alan Broadstone
Drive In - what three horror
movies are going to be featured
on the triple bill tonight and
what goodies are they going to be
serving up at the concession
stand?
My
short HUMAN NO MORE with
FRANKENSTEIN (1931), MY SKIN!
with THE CORPSE BRIDE, and SCREAM
FOR ME opening for SEVEN. The
concession stand will be serving
Red Baron Four Cheese and Classic
Supreme pizza; and the drinks
served will be Skyy vodka
martinis with a side of water and
fresh lemon. Cheers!
14)
What makes you go psycho in real
life?
When
someone talks down to me or gets
in my face. Also, when I tell
someone to leave me alone and
they just keep on coming. That's
a real quick way to find out what
a real psycho I am - if you push
the right button, my evil side
will instantly consume me and
you'll find yourself staring into
the eyes of the Devil himself.
And you really don't want to
screw with the Devil.
15)
What scares you in real life?
Real
life.
|