![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/Images\/CUBlog%20Art\/cu_dogsquicksand_interview.jpg\" "\\"Mike")
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\u201cUncaging Trippiedi,” Round 2<\/strong> by Jason Pankoke<\/em><\/p>\n Our interview series covering the artistic pursuits of Champaign, Illinois<\/strong> filmmaker and theater veteran Mike Trippiedi<\/strong> began with Caged Vixens<\/strong><\/span>, his affectionate spoof of \u201cwomen-in-prison\u201d exploitation cinema<\/a> originally staged November 1996 by the Celebration Company at the Station Theatre<\/strong> in twin city Urbana<\/strong>. When that conversation took place in January 1997, your humble editor learned Trippiedi had been pressing to commence principal photography on his first low-budget, feature-length movie DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> that summer. It took place without fail and a final cut emerged roughly one year later.<\/p>\n Sometime in between private cast-and-crew parties and public presentations, such as opening night of the 1999 Freaky Film Festival<\/strong> at the New Art Theater<\/strong>, Trippiedi graciously lent me a DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> screener to witness the fruits of his cast and crew\u2019s labor. Watching a cohesive product adorned by familiar faces and places in the television wing of the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters<\/strong> proved to be a genuinely exciting phenomenon, one of my first exposures to legitimate movie-making activity taking place in my community-wide backyard. Of course, all I could think was \u201cOh, the possibilities!\u201d<\/p>\n DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> and other filmic evidence concocted by those neighbors hardy enough to partake in the art, such as Jay Rosenstein<\/a>, Jason Butler<\/a><\/strong>, and John May<\/strong><\/a>, simply fueled The Dream that one could live a healthy movie life wherever one might reside. This idealistic thesis inspired the \u201cC-U Confidential\u201d section which appeared in every issue of MICRO-FILM<\/strong>, trumpeting localized stories as sheer proof to our readers that one\u2019s home can<\/em> be one\u2019s Hollywood<\/strong>. I conducted a fresh Trippiedi interview addressing his DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> experience and a self-published magazine, Backyard Cinema<\/span><\/strong>, for we couldn\u2019t go to press without him.<\/p>\n Having been out of circulation for the past several years after a handful of low-profile VHS and DVD releases, DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> is not an easy film to see. Therefore, we\u2019ve resurrected that second interview from March 1999 to provide an impression of the finished product as well as Trippiedi\u2019s thoughts on coordinating a large-scale project, well before making AMBER ROSE<\/strong><\/a> in 2010. The original question-and-answer session has never been published before now, although our DOGS<\/strong> article in MF 1<\/strong> quotes directly from it. Enjoy this \u201cEXTRA\u201d bonus!<\/p>\n Read on, MacMurph\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jason Pankoke:<\/strong> You\u2019ve come a long way from your earlier \u201cvideos\u201d to create DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong>, an offbeat small town murder mystery that revolves around your character, Mitch Schuster, as he attempts to juggle his ultra-jealous wife Lisa (played by Anne Shapland Kearns<\/strong>), a hooker-<\/em>come-birthday present named Monique (Mina Willis<\/strong>), and the murder of his oversexed secretary Darla (Susan Muirhead<\/strong>). When did you develop the idea for this film, and why did you choose to make this your first full-length feature?<\/em><\/p>\n Mike Trippiedi:<\/strong> Before DOGS<\/strong>, I had only done shorts. I wanted to do a feature but wasn\u2019t sure if I could pull it off. After the success of my stage play Caged Vixens<\/span><\/strong>, I knew I could keep a story going for 90 minutes. The original plot was nothing like the finished version of the movie, but I found as I was writing [that] the characters just took a life of their own. In fact, the DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> that you see in the current version is so different from the original concept that I still plan to turn my original idea into a movie someday.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> The first time we interviewed about DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> [before it was filmed during the summer of 1997], you hesitated divulging details because, to paraphrase, there were a lot of \u201choles to plug\u201d in the script. How much importance do you put on the writing aspect?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I believe that writing and editing are the most important parts of any film. Those are followed by music, acting, and photography. Directing is probably next, but I think a movie can be great without a good director.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Is there any stand-out work of film, theater, or literature that you look to as prime examples of good writing?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> Everybody seems to say this, but I think PULP FICTION<\/strong> is great writing. The play and movie version of GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS<\/strong> is also great writing.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> You have a tendency to work with darkly comedic subject matter. What attracts you to stories of murder and mayhem?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know where it comes from. I just try to keep things moving. My biggest fear in writing is that I might bore someone, so I make a real effort to keep my audience on their toes.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Did you ever set aside any material while writing DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> because it became too dark for its own good?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I would never set anything aside because it was too dark. That would be censoring. Nor would I dismiss something that might be perceived as too mainstream. I write what I write. It is what it is, nothing more or less.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> How did you come up with the film\u2019s title?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> The original title was KISS ME, KISS ME, KILL ME, KILL ME<\/strong>, but for some reason I just didn\u2019t like it. The title DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong>, to me, means people in situations way over their heads.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> The character of Mitch\u2019s best friend Tim \u201cMurph\u201d Murphy, played by Steven M. Keen<\/strong>, expounds on Mitch\u2019s so-called \u201cB-movie life\u201d as the melodrama unfolds. One of the ultimate ironies, of course, is that Murph is the master of puppets in this film, just like a low-budget director using his wits and available talent to bring his vision to life.<\/em><\/p>\n What endears you to the \u201cB-movie\u201d as a film watcher and filmmaker, and what constitutes a good one?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I think B-movies offer more freedom because the general public doesn\u2019t expect much from them. Like mainstream movies, there is a lot of garbage out there, so when a B-movie is good, it\u2019s a nice surprise. And the reason it\u2019s good is often because it is not afraid to take a risk, which is the real problem with most of the A list movies.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Do you think that people consciously desire to make B-movies, or is it a genre pigeonhole that many low-budget works get unceremoniously dumped in?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I hope that most filmmakers don\u2019t consciously try to make B-movies. I would rather they concentrate on making good movies no matter what type they are. If it\u2019s good, it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> shares a similarity in plot and overall feel with your previous short, HALF-DEAD<\/strong>. Was HALF-DEAD<\/strong> a conscious dry run for DOGS<\/strong>?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> HALF-DEAD<\/strong> was not a conscious dry run for DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong>. All of my films have elements in them that cross over into other films. If something works, I\u2019m not afraid to use it again.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Can you tell us about your working relationship with Steve Keen and Anne Shapland Kearns, who play leads in both films? They\u2019re quite good in DOGS<\/strong>, particularly during the flashback sequences that don\u2019t joke around with the characters\u2019 respective predicaments\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I have worked as an actor and director with Steve and Anne for more than 20 years. I like working with them and watching what they bring to each character they play. God willing, I will work with them again.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Why did you decide to take the role of Mitch and how did that affect your job behind the camera?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I wrote the role of Mitch for me. I\u2019m an actor and a writer. I hate directing. I only direct because no one else I know makes movies and I wanted to be in one. Obviously, it was easier to direct when I wasn\u2019t in a scene, but when I was in front of the camera I had total confidence in my director of photography, Bill Yauch<\/strong>.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> I found it romantic and bittersweet that Mitch finds solace in \u201cdancing with himself,\u201d so to speak, and that Monique develops an attraction to Mitch by helping him regain a sense of \u201cinnocence\u201d as a dance partner. What influenced you to give Mitch this particular hobby?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I\u2019m a ballroom dancer. I\u2019ve been one for more than three years now. In putting that hobby into the movie, I was just practicing \u201cWriting 101,\u201d writing what you know.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Lisa makes a big deal about Mitch stifling her artistic goals by moving to a small town. How does the community of artists and performers in a Midwestern college town like Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> differ from a place like New York City<\/strong>, where you spent some time early in your career?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I was born and raised in Champaign and have always been proud of that fact. Anyone who lets their environment cripple them has given up.<\/p>\n I lived in New York City between 1979 and 1982. That was before the world had heard of AIDS and before Disney<\/strong> had cleaned up 42nd Street<\/strong>. When I left New York, that city was at the peak of its sleaze and I was tired of it. I went there to be an actor and all I was doing was drinking and getting myself into trouble.<\/p>\n They say \u201cyou can\u2019t go back home,\u201d but I say you can if<\/em> you go home to start over instead of picking up where you left off. And that\u2019s exactly what I did. I started over.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Apart from acting, how involved is your wife Sue<\/strong> in helping you bring your films to life?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> Although I\u2019m sure a lot of people believe in me, Sue was the first person that I felt understood and supported my ideas and my ways to make them work. Through her support, I have gained a confidence to accept the fact that I\u2019m different and that my ideas are worth pursuing.<\/p>\n Sue enjoys acting. She\u2019s been in several plays and many of my movies.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> You fill the world of DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> with several strange characters, such as the one Sue plays, most of them winding up dead or ultimately clueless by the end of the movie\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> If you watch any movie that I\u2019ve made or anything that I have written, you will always see a lot of characters and subplots that all come together at the end. I like that. It keeps things interesting and always moving.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> What was it like to juggle more than a dozen good-sized speaking parts?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> has 14 main roles and 26 speaking parts. It made scheduling very difficult and confusing for several of the actors, but what counts is what you see in the finished movie and I think it\u2019s a lot of fun. Fewer characters would have taken away from the quirkiness of the film.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Many of those actors have appeared in your previous projects as well as other locally produced films and plays. It was rather neat to see a virtual roundtable of veterans at \u201cMom\u2019s Diner,\u201d including Keen, Rich Barrows<\/strong> (COYOTE\u2019S HONOR<\/strong>), Steve Davis<\/strong> (LOTTO<\/strong>), Paul Damski<\/strong> (THE STORY OF MOMMY AND DADDY<\/strong>), and of course, Janice Rothbaum<\/strong> (Caged Vixens<\/span><\/strong>). How do your actors approach working for the camera, as opposed to the stage work they\u2019re probably more accustomed to?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> Every actor, stage or screen, prepares for a role in their own way. Unfortunately, several members of my cast didn\u2019t prepare at all. I think a lot of no-budget filmmakers have that problem. On stage, if they mess up, an entire audience will see their mistakes. On a movie location, they know if something goes wrong they can do it again. I think because of that, many actors become lazy. It won\u2019t happen in my next film.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> The production design, sound, and editing of DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> are relatively clean. Other than taping with professional Betacam<\/strong> gear, how much of a role did Yauch play in shooting the film?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> Bill played a very big part in the success of the film. I knew if I was going to make a feature, I wanted someone who shot and edited professionally. In fact, not only does he shoot video professionally, but Bill is also a certified Master AVID<\/strong> editor. Only a handful of people in the world can say that.<\/p>\n During the shooting, we would meet before each shoot and we would tell each other how each of us saw the scene. Most of the time, our visions were pretty close to each other\u2019s. It was a collaboration. Some of the great shots in the movie were my ideas. Some of them were Bill\u2019s. I don\u2019t believe in one person having all the answers. People never work for<\/em> me. They work with<\/em> me. That is the only way I\u2019ll approach a project. A person who says he does something all by himself is a liar.<\/p>\n Besides Bill and the actors, the other key people who worked with me were my audio engineer, Scott Cimarusti<\/strong>, and the guy who wrote the wonderful score, David Butler<\/strong>.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> And, let\u2019s not forget mention of \u201cSluggo<\/strong>\u201d the dog, who appears during the opening and closing credits\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> The dog is Bill\u2019s. His wife Mary Keenan<\/strong> is an animal stage mother. She pushed for her dog to be a star.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> In retrospect, what do you think of the final film? Are there scenes or elements that you particularly liked, or would have accomplished in different ways?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I\u2019m happy with the final film. We did the best with what we had. Whenever a person looks at a finished product, they are always going to see things they wish they had done differently. I\u2019m no exception, but overall I\u2019m happy.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> What are your plans for your next film?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I have a lot of ideas, but haven\u2019t decided what my next project will be.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Elsewhere, DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/strong> features several references to your \u201cwomen-in-prison\u201d opus, Caged Vixens: A Drive-in Movie Disguised as a Play<\/span><\/strong>, which premiered in November of 1996 at the Station Theatre<\/strong><\/a> in Urbana. Several former \u201cvixens\u201d appear in lead or supporting roles \u2013 Willis, Rothbaum, Traci Nally, Mindy Manolakes, Heather M. Barrows<\/strong> \u2013 and Floyd Bundy<\/strong> reprises his catfight-loving \u201cWarden\u201d from the play as \u201cDetective Bruns\u201d in the film. What memories do you have of the production?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> You didn\u2019t mention Sue and John Tilford<\/strong>, they were in both as well. What I remember about Caged Vixens<\/span><\/strong> was working with a great group of dedicated actors who believed in me and the script. It was a good feeling.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Has Caged Vixens<\/span><\/strong> been performed since its premiere?<\/em><\/p>\n MT: Caged Vixens<\/span><\/strong> was done in Memphis, Tennessee<\/strong>, in May 1998 and it will be done in Mendon, Massachusetts<\/strong> in July 1999. That production will be directed by B-movie maker Michael Legge<\/strong>, who has written and directed such classics as WORKING STIFFS<\/strong> and CUTTHROATS<\/strong>.<\/p>\n [According to a recent conversation with Trippiedi, the Legge production of Caged Vixens<\/strong><\/span> never took place, although it was staged in 2010 at the University of Alabama<\/strong> in Huntsville<\/strong><\/a>. Legge currently appears late Saturday nights on Urbana’s cable access station, UPTV<\/strong>, in the vintage B-movie program THE DUNGEON OF DR. DRECK<\/strong>.<\/em> \u2013 ed.]<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> Are you still positive that Caged Vixens II<\/span><\/strong> isn\u2019t coming at us in the near future?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I don\u2019t like sequels, but I\u2019ll never say never.<\/p>\n JP:<\/strong> You\u2019ve produced several short films, which you\u2019ve termed \u201cvideos\u201d based on the media, including the aforementioned HALF-DEAD<\/strong>, the award-winning THE STORY OF MOMMY AND DADDY<\/strong>, and JESUSVILLE<\/strong>. What memories do you have making these early efforts?<\/em><\/p>\n MT:<\/strong> I have been making movies since 1970 when I was 12 years old. In fact, when growing up my whole neighborhood made movies. I made comedies, my brother Joe<\/strong> made slasher films, our friend
\nThe original interview with Mike Trippiedi on DOGS IN QUICKSAND<\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/Images\/CUBlog%20Art\/cu_dogsquicksand_desk.jpg\" "\\"John")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/Images\/CUBlog%20Art\/cu_dogsquicksand_bedroom.jpg\" "\\"Mina")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/Images\/CUBlog%20Art\/cu_dogsquicksand_gun.jpg\" "\\"John")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/Images\/CUBlog%20Art\/cu_dogsquicksand_pool.jpg\" "\\"Mike")
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