{"id":49,"date":"2006-04-22T15:15:42","date_gmt":"2006-04-22T21:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=49"},"modified":"2014-09-06T15:02:17","modified_gmt":"2014-09-06T21:02:17","slug":"jason-butler-interview-pt-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=49","title":{"rendered":"Q&A du C-U: Jason Butler"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cButler Did It \u2026 Again?\u201d
\n<\/strong>An interview with Jason Butler of WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/p>\n

by Jason Pankoke<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known Jason Butler<\/strong> for a damn long time, considering the turnover rate of young creative types in Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> as they regularly come and go to seek fame, fortune, or whatever fancy tugs them around this great wide world. For the past three-quarters of a decade, I\u2019ve seen JB hold steady on C-U soil, ping-ponging between multiple jobs and a return to higher education, all the while acting on his heart\u2019s desire to make movies.<\/p>\n

Compared to where he\u2019s come from since the 1997 Freaky Film Festival<\/strong>, at which his student-y shorts TACO HELL<\/strong> and PUSHER<\/strong> played, one wonders if the recent rash of successively ambitious long-form movies is a sign. After the night-in-the-college-life dark comedy THE TEETH OF THE BOTTLE<\/strong> (2002) and the sci-fi spoofery (with musical numbers!) of THORAXX II<\/strong> (2003), will he and BrainSmart Productions<\/strong> be ready and willing to take a giant step forward once he finishes WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong>, his current dose of monsterific mayhem?<\/p>\n

JB is certainly lower-profile than other area personalities into \u201cthe film thing,\u201d and his efforts possibly less-viewed than other area projects, but in certain quarters everybody knows his name well enough that a simple \u201cHey, JB!\u201d is as good a greeting as any. Maybe that\u2019s indicative of the goofball BrainSmart charm \u2013 all the people up there on the screen, playing strange characters and doing even stranger things, you might actually pass by on the street or drink with at a bar. In fact, you probably do.<\/p>\n

And now, with Episode 2 of WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> ready to premiere this weekend at Mike \u2018n\u2019 Molly\u2019s<\/strong> in downtown Champaign, we finally kick off the \u201coriginal feature content\u201d quotient of C-U Blogfidential<\/strong> by accomplishing a feat that\u2019s been in mind since before the dawn of MICRO-FILM<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

I interview The Man.<\/p>\n

Read on, MacDuff\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jason Pankoke:<\/strong> Before we talk about WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> and the debut of Episode 2, I wanted to lay down one extremely burning question that I had, just to get it out of the way \u2013 how does it feel to be the first-ever interviewee for C-U Blogfidential<\/strong>?<\/em><\/p>\n

Jason Butler:<\/strong> Well, from 9 to 1 today, I was editing a nursing seminar video at my job, then I spent about six hours on the opening credits and opening score for the Episode 1 DVD, then a few hours on the transformation scene for Episode 2, then a little while pacing and stressing out, which I came down from by cleaning up the sawdust from a prop-building session in my living room, then some more time on the score\u2026.<\/p>\n

So, I guess it\u2019s pretty relaxing to just be doing an interview, even if it is a monumental and record-setting one. Also, I just opened a beer, so I really can\u2019t complain.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Well, that makes one of us. I knew that I wasn\u2019t going into this interview particularly prepared \u2026 that little red coaster next to me looks awfully forlorn without a bottle sitting on top of it. I\u2019ll have to work on that.<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve mentioned the Episode 1 DVD to me before. Why did you decide to issue E1 on disc so soon, versus waiting until the saga was finished, and how much different is this edit of E1 compared to what you guys unleashed at Mike \u2018n\u2019 Molly\u2019s back in the fall?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> Well, a lot of people have been asking me about DVDs. They either want to watch it again, or missed it the first time, or want to send it to somebody. If it\u2019s something I can do to keep people happy, then I try to do it. Everybody in this movie has been working really hard for free, so the least I can do is provide them with the end result of all that effort. Of course, I said I\u2019d have the discs months ago but you know how it goes, especially when we\u2019ve been working on parts 2, 3, and 4 at the same time.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also something to be said for just finalizing part 1 and deciding I\u2019m not going to work on it any more, for the sake of my increasingly fragile psyche. You\u2019ll notice some changes, mainly the addition of more music, which we didn\u2019t have at the time to put in for the premiere [back in October]. Also, we went through and overdubbed every line of dialogue in the thing, and I put in actual credits and fixed up some of the visual effects. Plus, we recorded the DVD commentary the other night, in case you wanted to listen to us gossip and talk about food, or more or less ignore the fact that we were doing a commentary track.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Wow, I didn\u2019t realize that WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> graduated to \u201cquadrilogy\u201d status. Impressive!<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> Yeah, I don\u2019t talk about the four-part status all that much without being prompted \u2026 mostly, I just really don\u2019t like the word \u201cquadrilogy.\u201d<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Do you have original music recorded for the series, or are you using previously recorded material by composers and bands?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> We have all original music recorded for this one. Steve Ucherek<\/strong> from The Living Blue<\/strong>, who also stars in the movies, has done a couple songs including a truly bad-ass closing number which I\u2019m calling our \u201ctheme.\u201d Hopefully, he\u2019s okay with that. [I also picked up] some music creation software and bought the extension pack with all the instruments because I really wanted an orchestral score for this one, since we\u2019re harkening back to the black-and-white serials and horror movies of yore (kind of). An all-rock soundtrack just seemed inappropriate.<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Annie started screwing around with this software one night and churned out some great songs which you\u2019ll hear, and I did a couple although mine are all off-rhythm and out of key. We also had contributions for part 1 from Jim Mefford<\/strong> and the Duke of Uke himself, Dave King<\/strong>, and I\u2019m trying to get some other people to throw in songs for part 2.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Sound always seems to be a big task for indie filmmakers, whether it\u2019s the music score or sound effects or re-recording the dialogue. How tricky was it to match the new dialogue track to the footage? I\u2019m guessing that you didn\u2019t rent out a full-blown studio to help get the job done\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> The main complaints about our other movies were, \u201cIt moves too slow\u201d and \u201cThe sound sucks.\u201d I think WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> is cut a lot better and has a better flow to it, though I won\u2019t really know until an audience sees it. Maybe I should pass out those cards.<\/p>\n

Over the course of this epic, we\u2019ve gradually slowed down and started paying more attention, working with lighting more and trying to give actors time to get things just right, so sound is next on the list. Our stop-gap measure until then is overdubbing whatever dialogue we can. Our studio consists of my computer, our camera, and a microphone duct-taped onto a tripod \u2026 I don\u2019t have my house sound-proofed, though I\u2019m looking into that. (Don\u2019t tell Annie.)<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Who has been involved in the bells and whistles for the Episode 1 DVD?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> The commentary is by me, Mark Peaslee<\/strong> (camera), Annie Fitzgerald<\/strong> (\u201cNancy\u201d), Steve Ucherek (\u201cIchabob\u201d), Lacie Ucherek<\/strong> (\u201cChachi\u201d in Episode 2), Thomas Schrepfer<\/strong> (assistant editor and general go-to guy), Bradley Ledbetter<\/strong> (our favorite werewolf \u2013 he tears my head off), Scott Crawford<\/strong> (\u201cAgent Mantis\u201d in E2), Barney Joyce<\/strong> (\u201cAgent Sparrow\u201d in E2), Erik Martin<\/strong> (\u201cDennis MacArthur\u201d), Jim Mefford and Michelle Jones<\/strong> (our special effects geniuses), and two 30-packs<\/strong>. Seems like maybe a couple other people [were there] but I don\u2019t remember. I got the dogs a sitter because the THORAXX II<\/strong> commentary was mostly them barking.<\/p>\n

The cover for this one will be done by Peaslee. He showed me the latest version and it\u2019s pretty freakin\u2019 awesome. We\u2019re also trying to get an interview with Charlie Rose<\/strong> to put on the disc, but it may have to wait until next time.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Great. So now, since you\u2019ve started introducing the gang, maybe it\u2019s time to get everyone up to speed on what goes on in WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> Episode 1 follows Ichabob of Ditchtown (Steve Ucherek), a young gravedigger\u2019s apprentice (or grave nurse, in Ditchtown parlance) who is tired of his depressing life in the gravedigger village under the cruel tutelage of Master Retchford (Scott Kimble<\/strong>). When his chance arrives, he flees to the big city of Amnesia Falls, along the way meeting up with a sleazy Army recruiter (Erik Martin) and the mayor\u2019s daughters (Ann Fitzgerald and Liz Biondi<\/strong>), all of whom have an unfortunate run-in with a werewolf in the titular cemetery.<\/p>\n

In Episode 2, Ichabob tries to start a new life for himself by getting a real job. Being the na\u00efve but idealistic young grave nurse that he is, he gets suckered into joining a scurvy crew of werewolf hunters in the employ of Extermocorp. They march off to the woods to do battle, not knowing that the wolves are a little more organized than usual. In other words, E2 is where the shit hits the proverbial fan.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> I\u2019m always amazed at the sheer number of people that you have in your movies. I joked in the last issue of MICRO-FILM<\/strong> that you drew your talent from \u201cTowniewood,\u201d which was my oblique term for, simply, \u201cpeople in the neighborhood.\u201d Why do you think they are attracted to your projects, time and again?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> I try to make it as easy and attractive as possible to film with us. Everyone is really busy so I try to know everyone\u2019s schedule and work around that. If there\u2019s a brand of cheap beer they prefer, we try to get that. If someone has to be done by five, we do their lines first. Once you have those practicalities out of the way, it\u2019s usually about the most fun you can have, in my opinion. Sitting in the woods with a case of beer and a video camera, it\u2019s like the jokes are built right in. Or, if you have a big crowd scene, just set it at Mike \u2018n\u2019 Molly\u2019s, since all of Champaign\u2019s best actors will be there anyway.<\/p>\n

\"Scott<\/p>\n

Of course it gets stressful, too, but when that happens, people tend to quit joking around, buckle down, and get the scene done. Those times are actually nice to reflect on and realize that at the heart of all the hanging out and drinking, everyone just wants to make a movie.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Who appears in WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> for the first time in Episode 2?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> Barney Joyce makes his first appearance as Agent Sparrow, as does Scott Crawford as Agent Mantis. Lacie Ucherek shows up as Chachi, as well as myself as Dixon and Luke Walker<\/strong> as Stiletto, all werewolf hunters you\u2019ll grow to know and love. (Okay, we were all in part 1 as gravediggers, but these are our real<\/em> characters.) Other new faces in the werewolf-hunting crew are Mark Schroder<\/strong> as Titus, Jairus MacLeary<\/strong> as Sarge, Noel McCullough<\/strong> as Snuff, Dave Domal<\/strong> as Datsun, my brother Jeff Butler<\/strong> as Tank, and dozens of other people. Some of them just came to the shoot at Mike \u2018n\u2019 Molly\u2019s and I never got their names. Mike Clayton<\/strong> has a brilliant turn as Ted Blitzkrieg, the spokesman for Extermocorp, and by popular demand, Bill Turner<\/strong> makes an appearance as the old woodsman Skald Wolfcap. He only shows up for a minute, but I really wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he came back for Episode 3. Just a hunch.<\/p>\n

Man, there are a lot of people in this movie. That\u2019s something else we might take care of in part 3.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> How so, like adding even more characters or dramatically reducing the roster, due to carnage and mayhem?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> Oh, carnage, mayhem, maybe a little betrayal \u2026 you know, the classics.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Speaking of classics, why werewolves? You spoofed the Fifties sci-fi age with THORAXX II<\/strong>, and other local film groups have had their hands full lately with mummies \u2013 for whatever reasons \u2013 but you opted to side with lycanthropy this time. Dracula and zombies (and dead pets, per Stephen King) are associated way more often with cemeteries.<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> Our original idea was zombie werewolves, thus, the WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> title. Actually, I think this whole mess started with a title. [In the original story] the townsfolk are used to zombies and werewolves individually, but when they start cross-breeding, there\u2019s trouble. That got too complicated, so we [went with] werewolves that come back to life and go on the offensive after having been written off as dead. We leave the cemetery pretty quickly [in Episode 1], but it was such an audacious title we couldn\u2019t get rid of it. Plus, it ties into the gravediggers, who play a very important role here.<\/p>\n

Once we\u2019d decided to go with werewolves, we started looking at the old movies. It\u2019s almost a clich\u00e9 that a gravedigger is the first person to get killed in those films. We decided it was time for the gravediggers to get their comeuppance and made the main character a gravedigger \u2013 or, gravesmith, shovel hustler, or coffin jockey, if you want to use the parlance of the films.<\/p>\n

One thing that was appealing about the werewolf was this idea that they know what\u2019s going to happen (or at least, the audience knows) and there\u2019s nothing much they can do about it. Zombies don\u2019t come back, vampires are generally into the whole thing, dead pets \u2026 well, that\u2019s just silly. Mummies are usually just rich old assholes. But the werewolf is a pretty tragic figure which attracted me.<\/p>\n

It kind of snuck up on me in the writing and hopefully it\u2019ll sneak up on the audience, too. In my perfect world, people will show up to see some blood and base smart-assed humor, and walk off at the end of it kind of dwelling on the characters and how things might\u2019ve turned out differently, or wondering what\u2019s going to happen next.<\/p>\n

Clearly, I need another beer, because I\u2019m getting all serious on you. Let me make it clear that despite all my unwarranted lofty ideals of story, there will still be plenty of drunks with guns, just for insurance. Drunks with guns \u2026 now, that<\/em> is some reliable, timeless humor.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Unlike with prior films, you\u2019ve actually created a \u201cworld\u201d in which your characters exist, not just one-off scenarios strung together, unless you count the house party at the end of THE TEETH OF THE BOTTLE<\/strong>. The thing I keep drifting back to is the whole gravedigger culture. How long did it take you to develop all the elements that went into the WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> script?<\/em><\/p>\n

You may crack open another beer before continuing.<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> (Cracks open beer<\/em>) Consider it done.<\/p>\n

Peaslee and I spent many shifts at our old Sweet Betsy\u2019s<\/strong> job throwing around ideas. Then, he would get busy or something and I would go slice meat. That\u2019s where most of the ideas of the gravediggers gestated. (In my mind, not in the meat slicer.) There\u2019s nothing like a repetitive task when you\u2019re hung over and hopped on good coffee to really send you off into any escapist world possible. Lucky for me, I actually had a focus and got a script out of it.<\/p>\n

It was pretty obvious once we decided to have a town of gravediggers that it would be a morbid and depressing place. I just ran with that and made it the whole heart and fiber of everything out of the gravediggers\u2019 mouths. The split between the miserable, death-obsessed gravediggers and the wannabe upper-crust townsfolk was pretty obvious, and makes Ichabob\u2019s plight a little more touching \u2013 Dickensian, I\u2019ve been told. And with part 2, we add our shady government agents and the ubiquitous well-armed alcoholics, who pretty much define themselves. The tension between all these factions makes the story pretty easy to write in many ways, and then you put a certain conflict like a war with an army of monsters in there. Well, suddenly, your little movie is a four-hour miniseries.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> With the length of WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> creeping up as it obviously did, are there any characters or storylines that will be cut out, or did you decide \u201cscrew it\u201d and throw everything into the brew?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> There are bits and pieces that got left behind, just because they didn\u2019t fit in so well after looking at a finished scene. There is a whole subplot where Sarge and Agent Sparrow were college roommates, but Sarge doesn\u2019t remember because Extermocorp has wiped his memory clean \u2013 stuff like that. It’s kind of entertaining, but not so useful and appropriate in the end. Part of the reason for making it a serial was to keep some of the important scenes that would have gotten cut. The scene with Ichabob and the expatriate gravediggers at the end of part 1 doesn\u2019t add so much to the plot, but it helps establish Ichabob as someone who doesn\u2019t give up easily, someone with principles despite his nightmarish upbringing, and gives him a kind of character arc for part 1.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> I meant to ask you specifically about casting Steve Ucherek as your lead. I thought he did a pretty decent job in Episode 1 as the \u201ccountry boy\u201d innocent. Um, what\u2019s it like to direct a local rock star?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> Working with Steve has been a blast from the first day of THORAXX II<\/strong>. He\u2019s always up for whatever bullshit I make him do over and over again, whether it\u2019s some gravedigger nonsense I give him to recite, or spewing up a mixture of fake blood, chocolate milk, Alka Seltzer, and Busch Light. It was after his performance in T-II<\/strong>, where he was just hilarious and dead-on, that we cast him as the lead in this one. We\u2019re pretty much a performance-based meritocracy [and] in some cases, like with Erik Martin as the Army recruiter or Luke Walker as Stiletto, they did such a winning job that we wrote them into a lot more scenes.<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Above all else, Steve\u2019s just fucking adorable on screen. That\u2019s one of the most common raves I\u2019ve gotten about Episode 1. Steve as Ichabob just has a ton of heart and he\u2019s totally consistent in all of his scenes; when we get the whole thing done, take a look at the Ditchtown scenes in part 1 and his scenes in part 4 and he\u2019s virtually the same character despite everything he\u2019s been through.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always been understood that the band comes first, but he\u2019s worked with us patiently through reshoots and late nights; plus, he\u2019s recorded songs for us and let us work on their videos. So, I guess directing him is like working with a hard-working motherfucker who sometimes I remember is in a nationally-recognized band [and] there\u2019s no other person who could play Ichabob right. Even you, Malkovich<\/strong>! You listening?!<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> (A beat, then) I\u2019m not sure Malkovich heard you. Maybe he\u2019ll have time to negotiate a cameo after RIPLEY\u2019S GAME<\/strong> lets out at Ebertfest<\/strong>. If Nicholson<\/strong> and Christina Ricci<\/strong> can be in werewolf movies, why not Malkovich?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> I was joking with someone about that the other night. He asked me if I would be able to look Malkovich in the eyes and say, \u201cJohn, you\u2019re fucking this whole thing up. Get focused. Now<\/em>.\u201d I think I\u2019d have to say that even if he was doing a great job.<\/p>\n

One of my great regrets in life is from Ebertfest last year. I saw Jason Patric<\/strong> (AFTER DARK, MY SWEET<\/strong>) eating risotto out at a restaurant and only later that night did I realize I had missed my chance to say, \u201cMichael \u2026 you\u2019re eating maggots.\u201d I don\u2019t know that I\u2019ll ever forgive myself for that.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> Even in a more amiable fan setting like the<\/em> Fangoria<\/strong> show we were at last month \u2026 I didn\u2019t come close to George A. Romero<\/strong> (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD<\/strong>), but Tom Savini<\/strong> (DAWN OF THE DEAD \u201979<\/strong>) was running all over the place, Lloyd Kaufman<\/strong> (THE TOXIC AVENGER<\/strong>) held court just down the aisle from our table, and I was mere paces away from Stuart Gordon<\/strong> (THE RE-ANIMATOR<\/strong>) and Mick Garris<\/strong> (THE STAND<\/strong>) at points, and I never got the nerve to actually go up to them and say, \u201cHey,\u201d if nothing more cheesy. At least I talked Mark Borchardt<\/strong> and his entourage into visiting our table, but that was easy since he remembers me from the AMERICAN MOVIE<\/strong> screenings at Ebertfest and the Art Theatre<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, even though you\u2019re still a ways away from wrapping up WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong>, have you and Peaslee had any thoughts on what comes next?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> It\u2019s pretty up in the air and we\u2019ve thrown ideas around, but haven\u2019t really talked seriously about any one project. We\u2019ve done a couple of videos now for The Living Blue and we\u2019re pretty excited about them, and we\u2019d like to do some more for other local bands \u2026 the scope is small enough that if we can\u2019t get a shoot together for [something big like] WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong>, we can fit in a video shoot and it\u2019s a relatively quick edit. Plus, as Peaslee likes to point out, they already know their lines.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still learning a lot and the next step, I think, is to do something smaller where we can actually focus on training ourselves with location sound, lighting, and other things that apparently are important. Also, it would be nice to do a project we can wrap up in months rather than years, and something where we can really give actors time on the set to work on different ideas, rather than have to hurry because everyone\u2019s cold and the sun is coming up.<\/p>\n

\"Jason<\/p>\n

I have a pet project that\u2019s a BrainSmart take on a political thriller; the original idea started small-scale but already in my mind I\u2019m adding locations and make-up effects, things like that. Monsters are fun and I certainly feel no shame in running with that for a while, but people have told me they\u2019d like to see something more based in reality, something more along the lines of THE TEETH OF THE BOTTLE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So, that\u2019s a thought. We talk sometimes about knocking off a documentary which could be interesting, and of course I have plenty of ideas for a robot from space or a Godzilla kind of thing. But first, I have to sit here for a while and Photoshop all these fucking fishing lines out of this effects shot.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> At least you now have the desktop technology with which to do so. Just imagine how much better the hopping fast-food bag in TACO HELL<\/strong> could have been had the strings not been so obviously attached.<\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking of the old school, circa 1997 B.B.S. (Before BrainSmart), you apparently discovered a strange little celluloid mix-up\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> I had my very first film in a film festival around here, a Super-8 thing I did when I was about 17. This festival was years ago and I didn\u2019t have any money to make a copy of the film, but I was going to be there anyway so I gave them the original. I shouldn\u2019t have been too surprised recently when I went to take a look at the film after [all these] years and discovered they\u2019d given me someone else\u2019s original film. It was on my reel with my name written on it, it was just the wrong film. [The filmmaker had] never gotten a hold of me, so I guess it\u2019s up to me to track him down and try to swap our films. Hopefully, he\u2019s still around.<\/p>\n

[ELECTRIC FLESH<\/strong>] was claymation, too. He must have put an awful lot of time into it.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> I think that Eric Brummer<\/strong> went into porn not long after Freaky Films \u201997. Good luck locating him via whatever \u201cporn name\u201d he goes by in that business.<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> From claymation to porn. There\u2019s gotta be a joke there someplace.<\/p>\n

JP:<\/strong> So, we\u2019re on the topic of local film shows, which brings us right back to WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> and the premiere of Episode 2. Want to tell us where and when this goes down, and also what all you\u2019ll be showing?<\/em><\/p>\n

JB:<\/strong> Okay, April 23 and 24<\/strong> at Mike \u2018n\u2019 Molly\u2019s, 105 N. Market Street<\/strong> in Champaign<\/strong> \u2013 that\u2019s our premiere. If the weather\u2019s nice, it\u2019ll be in the beer garden which is the best place I can imagine for showing local stuff.<\/p>\n

At 10 p.m.<\/strong>, we\u2019ll show WEREWOLF CEMETERY part 1<\/strong>. This will be the \u201cremastered\u201d version as we discussed earlier.<\/p>\n

At 11:30 p.m.<\/strong> will be THE ADVENTURES OF THE SCREAMING APE<\/strong>. I wanted to hearken back a little to THORAXX II<\/strong> or something looser and faster, just for kicks and maybe also for a little ego boost, to remind myself that it doesn\u2019t always take us years to finish something. Also, I liked the idea of having two concurrent serials, WEREWOLF CEMETERY<\/strong> of course being the main one, but the SCREAMING APE<\/strong> thing as sort of an extra feature, the short film before the main feature.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the thing\u2019s about a guy who gets stung by a radioactive gypsy and is endowed with a magical ape suit that appears when he gets an erection, giving him the power to turn invisible as long as he\u2019s screaming at the top of his lungs. So, yes, it addresses a lot of timely issues.<\/p>\n

After that, we\u2019ll show a video we just did for the song \u201cSerrated Friend\u201d by our buddies, The Living Blue. And I\u2019ll tell you, for a four-minute thing, we put a fuckload of time and money and energy into it.<\/p>\n

At midnight<\/strong> or so, we\u2019ll show WEREWOLF CEMETERY part 2<\/strong>. If the weather holds up, it should be a pretty great night. We have a lot of stuff to show, obviously. And there will be beer there. And you\u2019ll probably get to see me walking into walls and stuff like that since I probably will not have slept. After the THORAXX II<\/strong> premiere, Annie found me sleeping standing up in the corner of our bathroom, so hopefully nothing that scary will happen, but we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

Oh, yeah, and also, it\u2019s only two bucks for, like, four hours of entertainment. Don\u2019t say I never hooked you up.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

F I V E & O U T
\n<\/strong>Tell us, JB:<\/p>\n

\u2022 What you\u2019ve made:<\/p>\n

\n

ADVENTURES OF THE SCREAMING APE 1<\/strong> (serial)
\nTHE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT PROJECT<\/strong>
\nDARTH VADOR IN STAR WARS<\/strong>
\nTHE FUCKING TERRIFIC JOURNEY<\/strong> (incomplete)
\nHAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAD MAN<\/strong>
\nNO TOMORROW<\/strong> (music video \u2013 The Living Blue)
\nROCK PAPER VICTORY<\/strong> (incomplete)
\nSERRATED FRIEND<\/strong> (music video \u2013 The Living Blue)
\nTHE TEETH OF THE BOTTLE<\/strong> (feature)
\nTEX-MEXED<\/strong>
\nTHORAXX<\/strong>
\nTHORAXX II: THE BREEDING<\/strong> (feature)
\nVIVA LA TERRA DEL GATO<\/strong>
\nWEREWOLF CEMETERY 1<\/strong> (serial)
\nWEREWOLF CEMETERY 2<\/strong> (serial)
\nTHE WINKERPICKLE \u2013 THE DANCE<\/strong>
\nTHE WINKERPICKLE \u2013 THE GIMP<\/strong>
\nTHE WINKERPICKLE \u2013 THE GIFT<\/strong>
\nYOU\u2019RE SPECIAL<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2022 Which do you like best \u2013 film, video, or digital:<\/p>\n

\n

Uh, I\u2019ve never used film, really, aside from Super-8 and that was a long time ago. I\u2019ve been sort of thinking about trying to do a 16mm feature next, but we\u2019ll just see where I\u2019m at when that happens. We could certainly use a couple more \u201ctraining pictures,\u201d which is more or less how I look at everything.<\/p>\n

I watch a lot of DVD commentary tracks \u2013 how can you not<\/em> do that all the time if you\u2019re making no-budget movies \u2013 and there are quite a few that are pretty instructive on shooting on film at this budget level. EL MARIACHI<\/strong> of course is the classic. PRIMER<\/strong> is a really good recent one. Any Peter Jackson commentary is pretty good, even if we can\u2019t afford miniature cities at 18 different scales.<\/p>\n

If they ever come out with a DVD special edition of DEAD ALIVE<\/strong>, I\u2019ll be at the store that day to buy it. If a movie I idolize comes out with some good behind-the-scenes stuff, I\u2019m all over it. The first two ALIEN<\/strong> movies, Carpenter<\/strong>\u2019s THE THING<\/strong>, and the \u201870s DAWN OF THE DEAD<\/strong> are the ones I always go back to, to figure this stuff out \u2026 sometimes, you can parlay their expensive trickery into some cheap-ass trickery. Smoke and mirrors, baby.<\/p>\n

Oh, yeah, your question. So, I guess, digital for now. It\u2019s really cheap and the quality of course gets better all the time, though I sure do want to make a Film film while that\u2019s still around.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2022 Where is your geographical preference \u2013 Champaign, Urbana, the UIUC campus, or beyond city limits:<\/p>\n

\n

If I\u2019m going to take a relaxing walk I\u2019ll go to Urbana. If I\u2019m going out to hit the sauce I\u2019ll go to Champaign. If I\u2019m going to a library I\u2019ll go to Urbana. If I\u2019m going to a friend\u2019s house it\u2019ll probably be Champaign. I only go to campus to rent movies, or to go to the Y Eatery<\/strong>, though I do like some of the old campus buildings, generally the ones they\u2019re knocking down. We filmed some stuff in a couple of basements on campus and they\u2019re good for decrepit, industrial-looking stuff. Beyond city limits, sure, I like that sometimes. I love Portland and I freaking despise Phoenix. I\u2019m really tired of driving cars so I\u2019m not that into LA and I have never spent more than a couple of hours in New York.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2022 What is the one movie project that you would like to do someday that nobody will ever see coming:<\/p>\n

\n

My No. 1 dream project \u2013 and this is if and when I figure out how to make a big-budget, large-scale picture, and someone else pays for it and takes care of things like catering and scheduling and renting period tanks and aircraft \u2013 would be a three-hour-or-so version of For Whom the Bell Tolls<\/em>. Seriously, the most exciting book I think I\u2019ve read, and just powerful. I can see in my mind just how it would be, but I have no idea how to translate that to film. Also, I\u2019d like it to be in Spanish, which I don\u2019t speak, and [I can think of] all kinds of other problems. So, that\u2019s what they call a dream project.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d also like to wrestle with the problem of making a live-action version of WATERSHIP DOWN<\/strong>. I\u2019m pretty sure it\u2019s impossible, but a fun sort of brain-teaser.<\/p>\n

And, the project that I\u2019m sure somebody will beat me to \u2013 a remake of Disney\u2019s THE BLACK HOLE<\/strong>. It would be just like the original, except good. It\u2019d be cool too if Robert Forster<\/strong> and Ernie Borgnine<\/strong> could be in the remake. I\u2019d axe those fucking sappy-ass floating trash-can robots, though \u2026 Okay, I guess it was pretty nail-biting when Old Bob went up against Maximillian, but other than that, those robots sucked!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2022 Apart from your own movies, the one underappreciated gem that you think people should bend over backwards to check out is:<\/p>\n

\n

I don\u2019t know, man, ask Ebert<\/strong>. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA<\/strong>, I guess. Really, I don\u2019t know that many obscure films. I\u2019ll usually try to watch the classics or foreign stuff, you know, the quality material, the sure thing. Or, more likely, I\u2019ll rent some total garbage which somehow I find instructional. Well, sometimes.<\/p>\n

Okay, here\u2019s a gem for you \u2013<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Full Moon Entertainment, who brought you the PUPPETMASTER<\/strong> films as well as DOLLMAN<\/strong> \u2026 comes a new experience in \u2026\u201d Well, I\u2019m not sure. \u201cGary Busey<\/strong> \u2026 is \u2026 THE GINGERDEAD MAN<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

This movie was very inspiring in that:<\/p>\n

A. There are many, many filmmakers who are far, far worse at it than we are, yet they appear to get paid for it. Or at least they got distribution.<\/p>\n

B. If you send Gary Busey a stack of stained bar napkins with the word \u201cscript\u201d on the top, he will sign up for your project.<\/p>\n

C. Gary Busey is fucking crazy. Watch his behind-the-scenes interviews.<\/p>\n

So, yeah. Underappreciated movies? Read MICRO-FILM<\/strong>. I have too much editing to do to watch movies these days, anyhow. I just leave it to the pros.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interview conducted April 2006 via e-mail.<\/em><\/p>\n

All WEREWOLF CEMETERY photos
\ncourtesy of Jason Butler\/BrainSmart Productions.<\/em><\/p>\n

Web Source: Jason Butler<\/em> [brainsmartproductions@yahoo.com<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"THE<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

CUBlog Interview No.1 \u00a9 2006 Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back to the fore, MacDuff\u2026<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Visit the Interview Index<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Return to Home Page<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview with the director of WEREWOLF CEMETERY and a billion other BrainSmart productions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-qa-du-c-u"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}