|
Screaming Stoner
Video: What is the coolest feedback you've received from My Skin! so far?
Christopher Alan Broadstone: That’s hard to say, I’ve had so much
great response to the film. The first thing that comes to mind, however,
is when the film was selected to screen at A.K.A Shriekfest 2003, at
Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles. That was an unexpected honor in itself,
but then the film was given a very high-profile timeslot and also won
“Best Horror Short (2nd Place)”. MY SKIN also won College-Film.com’s
“Best of the Best 2003” award. Since then the film has screened at
festivals on both coats and even in Poland, where actor Tony Simmons won
the “Best Actor” award (in combination with his acting in my first
film, SCREAM FOR ME) at the Horror Fiesta Film Festival 2004. Tony also
won “Best Actor Short Film – MY SKIN” at the Cine-Macabre Film
Festival 2004 in Georgia, here in the US. Most recently, MY SKIN has been
playing with rave reviews on AtomFilms.com, which has now garnered the
attention of the producers of the Academy Award Nominated film THE COOLER.
Even the Twisted Pictures producers (SAW) have taken a look at me and my
work. So, what can I say, that little film has brought me along way at
this point. But even with all the high-profile recognition, I still have
to say that the most satisfying feedback is every time someone purchases
MY SKIN on DVD. Paying hard earned cash to own my films says a whole lot
to me. I’m very proud that horror fans care about my work that much.
* As of the completion of this interview, Christopher Alan Broadstone was
voted “Best Director/Picture –– MY SKIN” by THE CINEMA EDGE AWARDS
hosted by WickedPixel.com and sponsored by Sub Rosa Studio’s,
HorrorView.com, MonstersAtPlay.com, and DVDManiacs.net.
What was the original inspiration for the movie? How
did it come about?
Oddly enough, I can’t quite remember. I just recall thinking that SCREAM
FOR ME had been finished for a while, and that I simply needed to make
another film –– both for creative release and to further my career
(which at the time didn’t exist). I also had a new Mini DV camera that
was just screaming to be used. So, what to do? Get busy writing a script
and get filming ASAP, before I rotted in my own skin. A bit of madness set
in –– which has proven to be a requirement for making any film ––
and I hammered out a screenplay in just under a month, hoping to make a
movie that would be very tight, fast paced, and would utilize camera to
propel and tell the story. Essentially the film is one guy sitting at a
desk talking to someone we never see. Now that’s a challenge to make
interesting and exciting. Fortunately, Tony wanted to work with me again,
and his excellent (and now award winning) acting proved to be the better
half of the camera magic that made MY SKIN great.
Can you tell us anything about the film that nobody
else knows yet?
As a matter-of-fact there actually is one really cool and creepy thing
that very few people have noticed. On the desk there’s a small calendar
that shows the date to be “September12, 2001”. That date turned out to
be the day after the Twin Towers were attacked and destroyed in New York
City. The film itself, however, was conceived and filmed six months before
the tragedy of 9/11 actually occurred. Now keep in mind that MY SKIN is
about Death, who is very fed up with untimely and wrongful killing. So,
what a better day than the day after 9/11 for him to swoop in and take the
ultimate revenge on the murderer of a defenseless, young women. Of course,
there are many other events in history that can boast higher casualties
than 9/11, but as with many things in life, you never know when that one
dreadful moment will occur that will be the straw that breaks the
camel’s back. In MY SKIN Death has reached that very moment; he is
absolutely sick and tired of amateurs stepping on his toes and buggering
up his well-laid plans. As he says in the film, “Murder isn't even a
skill, it's an invasion. Be you executioner, assassin, pop-cult killer, or
just some neurotic bed-wetter pulling the wings off butterflies, you've
all invaded my space, my art, my skin.” Another thing few people have
noticed is that the set is sprinkled with several key props used in my
first film, SCREAM FOR ME.
What can you tell us about Scream For Me? Where did
the idea come from?
SFM was a story that came to me many, many years ago before I ever even
thought about making a film and was still living as a musician in Dallas,
TX. At that time I simply wanted to write a short story that would be
almost entirely dialogue driven, with few paragraphs necessary for
description. I wanted each of the three characters’ stories to unfold by
way of that dialogue, delivered as back-to-back monologues by the two
serial killers, Garrott Druck and then Madman. Arguably that’s not a
standard way to structure a short story or a film –– and certainly
there are plenty of writers and filmmakers out there that love to condemn
me for doing it. But I say screw ‘em! I like breaking thematic rules and
structure in my stories. It allows me to put my audience in a position of
unique perspective –– one that forces them to experience events
playing out before them in a new way...sometimes in a very uncomfortable
way. Which is certainly the case with SFM. Also, I wanted the flood of
dialogue to play out as part of the fabric of a very intense situation,
and a situation that just keeps going from bad to worse, apparently
without limits. I knew from the beginning that SFM would not be for
everyone, but I did want it to be a film that would suck you in, as if
you’re watching a tragic car accident in slow motion –– something
you just can’t take your eyes off of no matter how bad you might want
to. From my experience to date –– and especially now that the film has
won Best Short Film at the New York City Horror Film Festival 2003,
received 4 out of 5 stars on FilmThreat.com, won the Best Actor Award
(Tony Simmons) at Horror Fiesta Film Festival 2004 (Poland), and has
screened at this year’s Hollywood Film Festival –– I feel I have
more than surpassed my original goal, and most certainly my expectations
for the film’s success. I had, at worst (and at my guilty pleasure’s
best), hoped SFM would become the DVD people would pull out at parties to
freak out their friends. Deep down, of course, I always hoped people would
see that there really is a provocative story going on. SFM isn’t merely
about shock value –– which brings me to make a comment about all of my
films: SCREAM FOR ME, MY SKIN, and HUMAN NO MORE. They’re all designed
to be watched again and again and again. And why? Because they’re films
built with many layers of information. They’re also films designed to
inspire speculation. As the filmmaker, I hope to grant the viewer his or
her own right to the interpretation of my work. Each of my films are
personal to me and, ultimately, I want them to become a personal discovery
for each and every viewer. It isn’t important if we all arrive at the
same end, but what is important is that we all arrive at an end that is
personal to who we are. Individually. Because in individuality there is
unique and subjective motivation, there are inspired dreams, there is
discovery, and there is unrivaled self-satisfaction. Now, with that bit of
unabashed, syrupy, poetic high-idealism being stated, I sure wish I could
discover some more money somehow. That would catalyze some amazingly
gratifying self-satisfaction in itself...and hopefully some more movies
and books from little ‘ol me.
* As of the completion of this interview, THE CINEMA EDGE AWARDS (hosted
by WickedPixel.com and sponsored by Sub Rosa Studio’s, HorrorView.com,
MonstersAtPlay.com, and DVDManiacs.net) have voted SCREAM FOR ME winner in
the following categories:
“Best Actor – Tony Simmons”
“Best Visual Presentation – Cinematography/Production
Design/Editing”
“Most Inventive Story/Concept”
What's the independent movie scene like where you
live? Where are you located in the world?
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for about 9 years now, and with L.A. being the
filmmaking capital of the world, there is a lot of indie filmmaking going
on all the time. I can’t say that I love L.A., but if you want to make
movies it’s the best place to be. There’s no shortage of talent and
resources here. Of course that also means there’s a lot more competition
too. That’s certainly the downside.
Do you have any favorite motion pictures? What's
your favorite genre of movie?
Yeah, too many to mention here –– but at the top of my list are: BLADE
RUNNER, TWELVE MONKEYS, SEVEN, ALIEN 3, FIGHT CLUB, VERTIGO, PSYCHO, THE
ABYSS, THE PERFECT STORM, FRANKENSTEIN (1931), THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA
MADRE, METROPOLIS. BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. I don’t really have a favorite
genre of film, but I’m usually drawn to horror, thriller, sci-fi, and
comedy.
What type of music do you prefer?
I listen to a lot of different types of music ranging from the Dead
Kennedys to Cyndi Lauper to Tom Waits to Johnny Cash to Slipnot to Korn. I
love jazz too: Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Buddy Rich, etc.
I’m also a confessed film score addict –– I probably listen to more
film scores than anything else these days. My current favorites are the
score for HERO, SKY CAPTAIN, and the recently re-mastered and re-released
THE GOOD , THE BAD, AND THE UGLY.
Ever listen to Cypress Hill?
Never have paid much attention to Cypress Hill; and I really
don’t care for rap, although I do appreciate certain contributions,
rhythmically speaking, rap has made to music as a whole. After all, I was
a professional drummer for almost 15 years, playing with my band ABOUT 9
TIMES and then THE JUDAS ENGINE.
Do you feel that the indie horror film genre is
progressing or regressing?
That’s a good question. I think I have to say it’s both progressing
and regressing simultaneously. It’s progressing in the sense that more
films are being made, but it’s regressing in that most of them are
terrible. Which is the scary part to me, because that means that indie
studios keep cranking out loads of crap because it’s making them money.
And that means that horror fans are out there buying or renting this
garbage. And that only serves to prove what the big studios already think
about the average horror fan: he/she is an idiot. And if the average
movie-going horror fan is an idiot, why spend any real money developing
great horror films? Even so, I think that big studio horror has progressed
somewhat in recent years, but only because of some good luck with the
success of films like THE SIXTH SENSE, THE RING, FEAR.COM, THE GRUDGE, and
a few others. Of course most of these films are ghost stories, which is
fine, but they aren’t really pushing the creative limits of the genre as
a whole. Most recently, Twisted Pictures attempted to break some barriers
with their film SAW. Although SAW has proven to be a financial success,
most discerning horror fans I know, including myself, find the film to be
a gigantic disappointment. Touted as super intense and very gory, SAW is
none of the above. As well, the dialogue is awful and the acting mediocre
at best –– and for the film to be compared to a masterpiece like SEVEN
is truly a crime. Yet people are eating it up. Once again average horror
fans have proven themselves to have no sense of story, structure, genuine
intensity, or decent acting. So, once again the sum of the equation is
status quo: why spend the money and effort to make really great horror
films when horror fans will gulp down whatever tripe they’re fed. I’m
disappointed, to say the least. Another issue I’m having goes back to
indie horror. So many of the films I’ve been seeing at festivals are in
all truth dark comedies, silly comedies, pure camp, or zombie films (with
dancing zombies!). No one seems to be able to make a serious horror film.
Or even wants to. I have no problem mixing horror and comedy, but there
needs to be a separation of church and state. In my opinion, a comedy
horror film should not win a festival award titled “Best Horror Short”
or “Best Horror Feature” –– both of which I’ve seen happen at
horror fests this year. The good news is, a few festivals are starting to
distinguish between the two styles. I know that Horror Fiesta (Poland) has
recently done so. They have a “Best Horror Comedy” award and a “Best
Horror Short” and “Best Horror Feature” award. I really hope the
other fests take note and also make the change. I mean you can’t really
compare a film like ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN to THE EXORCIST.
At least I can’t.
What is the coolest DVD you've seen in the last six
months and why?
I’ve really enjoyed all of Universal’s Monster Legacy Collections, as
well as the new special editions of the ALIEN films, JOHN CARPENTER’S:
THE THING (although I know it’s only a repackaging of the earlier DVD
release), the newly re-mastered TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASACRE, and even HELLBOY.
The reason I like these DVDs so much is that they’re all great films,
are a piece of cinematic history, and have wonderful extras and great
commentaries. As an ever-learning filmmaker, I find the vast information
on these DVDs invaluable.
What are your opinions on the legalization of
marijuana?
I don’t use drugs myself, but I do think most drugs should be legalized.
I also believe that people who use drugs should be held accountable for
their actions and severely punished for any misuse, or abuse, of these
drugs that results in injury to others. As well, I think legalizing drugs,
even if only marijuana, would greatly reduce the criminal element in
society.
|
