August 29, 2010

PIERRE AYOTTE - FILMMAKER INTERVIEW


Exclusive interview with cool, awe-inspiring filmmaker PIERRE AYOTTE, from Canada who took the time to be interviewed for our blog.  And also to thank Mr. Ayotte for sending us a dvd screener of his grindhouse tribute, awesome, absurd, fast-paced short film MASSACRATOR for review and for taking the time to be asked questions.  MASSACRATOR 2 is soon to be release I cant wait to check it out.  Check out his trailers of his other film works - honestly, WOW - AWESOME...
EYEPUSPierre can you tell EYEPUS a bio about you and your multitalented works - especially as seen in your short film MASSACRATOR?

PIERRE AYOTTE: Growing up, I was always close to one kind of art or another. At home, we watched very little TV but a lot of movies, with a jukebox in the living room (my dad was a bit fifties-oriented); so music and dancing was part of the background. I started playing guitar myself at around fourteen, but was more inclined towards sports and science in high school, although I did a few year-end shows. I went to engineering in college, spreading my free time between rock bands and hockey, but found the applied science curriculum less thrilling than I thought. I switched to the Communications Program at University of Montreal, which happened to give free access to shooting equipment and editing facilities. I flunked it twice, just to take it again and benefit from the free equipment, and made a bunch of short films and videos. At the time, I was also doing music and eventually decided to pursue it more seriously for some years. I recorded a few albums and did a couple of hundred shows. Producing music was satisfying, but I missed the overall intricate endeavor of moviemaking. I was stuck between two great passions, and I knew you can only do one thing with greatness, not two. So I chose cinema, which is what I've been doing lately. I finished Massacrator and three other short films, and am now at work on my first full-length movie.

 EYEPUSI just found out you also do photography - Can you tell me about your fashionable black/white and colorful photography?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  I did a couple of years of glamour photography and some exhibits, but as a hobby, really. Doing camera work in movies, I found photo framing and model direction to be closely related to directing a film shot. I do like the esthetics of black and white.

EYEPUSDid you go to film school or art school?

PIERRE AYOTTE: Besides the free-equipment repeat sessions, I did a minor in cinema theory as part of my college degree. Very instructive in terms of cinema history but not too useful if your aim is to actually do film. For that, nothing beats slugging it on no-budgets productions.

EYEPUSYou are from Canada - how is the horror/filmmaking scene in Canada?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  The Canadian living dead is alive and well ;) In Montreal especially, you find all kinds of very active and creative people, with some major genre festivals such as the Fantasia Festival and Toronto After Dark. I find it uncanny that a relatively small population can manage and sustain its genre community. People here are very resourceful and show great abilities at combining technical proficiency with very low budgets. There's a can-do and "will-do-no-matter-what" attitude that makes this scene a lot bigger than its parts.

EYEPUSWould you call your film MASSACRATOR a horror sci-fi spoof?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  It sure is.



EYEPUS: Your film features an undead Elvis Presley - are you a fan of Elvis?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  Certainly. My father playing rockabilly guitar in outdoors shows, Elvis in the jukebox, those are great memories. Like all teens, I rebelled against stuff in my teens, but managed to keep my fondness for the King alive. I understand the cheesy dimension surrounding this pop culture icon, and I play with it as well, but I have a genuine appreciation for the man and his music. At his best, he was an incredible singer and performer. The rock I play and listen to has not much to do with him, but it owes a great deal of its existence to pioneers like him.

EYEPUSI just found out you did a sequel to MASSACRATOR - Can you tell us a bit without giving away too much?


PIERRE  AYOTTE:  It's more of a tongue-in-cheek musical after-thought to Massacrator; it's got quite a bit of gore as well, but it isn't a narrative per se. Basically, Elvis comes backs to life after being decapitated by Massacrator, but his brain is infected with a virus. So he sings a bit, and kills a lot.



EYEPUSWho are your favorite horror filmmakers of all time?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  I like filmmakers who manage to blend horror/suspense with good narratives and some style. John Carpenter comes to mind, early Sam Raimi, Ridley Scott.

EYEPUS: Favorite horror films of all time?

PIERRE AYOTTE: Alien, The Thing, The Shining, Evil Dead. 200 other ones.

EYEPUSYour film is very outrageous and absurd - reminded me of the early works of John Waters - Who or what inspired you to make MASSACRATOR?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  A visiting friend of mine was very muscular (he's a judoka). He was here for a week, so we decide to do a Terminator 2 gory silent spoof on the weekend, starring him. Although it was a quick and dirty production, I knew I could convey a certain uncanny style in both the humor and the action by using old film and low tech tricks in this genre of movie. After sending it to a few places, I was somewhat surprised that other festivals started writing me to get it as well. It's not groundbreaking cinema, but it fits the audience for these types of showings.

EYEPUSSo lets get technical - the making of MASSACRATOR - Which editing system did you used to cut your film?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  It was shot on Super-8 film and edited on a very old reel-to-reel manual splicer. There is no negative with Super-8, so you are basically editing your master, adding a lot of scratches and dust just playing it back and forth, so there was no need to add those scratches in post-production. After I had fooled around enough with it, I sent it for digital transfer in Toronto (Frame Discreet, excellent people) and fine-tuned it in Sony Vegas, because there's no way I could get a tight enough edit other than on a modern non-linear editing system.

EYEPUSWhat was your overall budget for MASSACRATOR?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  About 300$ for film and transfers, 200$ for gas money, fake blood, lunch, beer, etc.

EYEPUSWhich film camera you used to make this film?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  A Bauer C 900 XLM Super-8.

EYEPUSDo you have any more upcoming film projects in the works?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  I'm currently at work finishing the editing of my first feature film, a whitesploitation action comedy. It's very old-school, with loud car chases, gory back alley martial arts, dynamite, peek-a-boo nudity, and very cool funk music. It stars a rock band against the forces of Evil, of course.

EYEPUS For all filmmakers who are struggling pushing their little films out there - Can you tell us about how are you going about promoting and doing publicity for your films - are you doing it the all self - distribution way?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  First, I made something like a five-year plan, because I understood that the publicity efforts would come from myself for the longest time. Then I made sure the films are the best they can be. I show it to friends, cut out the fat, show it some more, cut some more. Basically, I make it tight and effective, because people will have zero patience for something they don't know yet. I build up interest for it and subsequent productions by entering festivals, submitting to online reviews, putting trailers on YouTube, creating a mailing list from any and all, creating bridges to like-minded people on Facebook, Youtube, MySpace, etc. I spent a bit on Festival fees, poster expenditures, etc, and a unexpectedly large chunk of time; this is where the five-year plan helps. Meanwhile, I write scripts and keep on top of industry changes with books and online resources (The Workbook Project for instance). 

EYEPUSWhat is your best advice to give to all struggling horror filmmakers who are trying to make a film at no zero budget?

PIERRE AYOTTE:  Just do it, and make sure you finish what you start, even if you have to wing it; then move on to the next thing. Besides, if your budget is zero, then your potential for loss is inexistent, isn't it?

FOR MORE OF PIERRE AYOTTE UPCOMING FILM WORKS, MUSIC AND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKS PLEASE VISIT WWW.PIERREAYOTTE.COM

CHECK OUT HIS UPCOMING MASSACRATOR 2 TRAILER BELOW

FILMMAKER PIERRE AYOTTE - EXCLUSIVE TRAILERS

THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE SECTION FOR PIERRE AYOTTE Awesome - horror, gore, crazy cool Trailers of his film works DATE WITH A CHICKEN, MASSACRATOR, MASSACRATOR 2: ELVIS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and SATAN, JESUS & ELVIS.  Check them out and visit his website

DATE WITH A CHICKEN



SATAN, JESUS & ELVIS



MASSACRATOR 2: THE ELVIS CHAINSAW MASSACRE



MASSACRATOR

August 28, 2010

MASSACRATOR - A Short film by Pierre Ayotte - Review

Lately, I've been watching lots of indie short horror films and sad to say the short horror films is better than the horror feature garbage that pops in our local bijous and Netflix.  Recently, I just got a dvd screener MASSACRATOR from filmmaker Pierre Ayotte I must say it was one twisted, awesome, grindhouse, crazy ass film.  MASSACRATOR is absurd and funny as hell - Elvis Presley comes back from the dead.  Pierre Ayotte take us to experimental, grindhouse tribute via Super 8 (literally the film was shot in Super 8 - no Final Cut Pro scratchy film effects here) and an amazing soundtrack.  MASSACRATOR is getting lots of film festival notoriety and filmmaker Pierre Ayotte is one filmmaker to be in the look out for.  Following this review is a personal interview with filmmaker Pierre Ayotte.

Below is the trailer of MASSACRATOR and check out the website  www.massacrator.com 

August 17, 2010

DONT BE AFRAID OF THE DARK - Remake - Poster and Trailer

"DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK" is a remake of the 1973 of the same name starring back then Kim Darby as she gets turned the fuck out by shady little creatures.  Scary as hell when it played on TV back in the seventies and the 80's especially watching the film after midnight in our black and white tv sets.  In this remake - stars Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes - Guillermo Del Toro produced and wrote the story.  Anything Guillermo Del Toro touches is gold, so I know is going to be great.  Maybe someone could remake TRILOGY OF TERROR someday.  Another great made for television horror film that scared the crap out of me in the 70's.

Below is the poster of the original film, the remake and the trailer of the new remake.
Enjoy...



Don't Be Afraid of the Dark in HD

Trailer Park Movies 
MySpace Video

New Horror DVD releases

New Horror DVD releases today TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2010:

A film about Killer Animals BURNING BRIGHT

AND FROM SHOUT FACTORY TWO HORROR SAPPY RELEASES



August 6, 2010

DONT LOOK IN THE BASEMENT - Remake Coming Soon



Legendary filmmaker Alan Rowe Kelly and Anthony G. Summer both are directing together the seventies horror underground classic "DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT".  Above is the original poster of the classic horror film and the new version below.  I love the new version poster...

August 5, 2010

MAC ELDRIDGE - CHEMICAL 12-D FILMMAKER - INTERVIEW


EYEPUS: How did your passion for filmmaking got started?

MAC ELDRIDGE: I don't have the typical start in film making where someone in my family took me to the theater constantly. Instead, my brother's best friend got a job at the local theater and constantly took my brother to the movies. Once my brother got tired of it and stopped going, his best friend took me instead (as he thought I was the closest thing to my brother). I was taken to see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou one day and it was then I realized that films are more than just entertainment: they could be whatever I wanted them to be. I started making movies with my brother's best friend with a little sony hand camera in our backyard and now I just wrapped my last production shot on RED. Its a surreal experience when I look at the big picture.

EYEPUS: Did you attended film school?

MAC ELDRIDGE: I still attend film school in Chicago at DePaul University. I'm entering my final year here and I cannot speak any bad about the experience. Its free equipment and they let me shoot what I want (more importantly, the work I produce is mine, not the school's like many other film schools). I made Chemical 12-D as a sophomore in my first production class. Before entering college I was certain I was just going to go out to LA and start working, but my DP David Wagenaar convinced me to come here. Thankfully, he did or else I wouldn't have gotten to make 12-D amongst other projects that I've had a blast making.

EYEPUS: Any favorite horror films of all time?

MAC ELDRIDGE:  I'm a list man. That meaning, I constantly create lists and they constantly get rearranged as well. With that said, I have my five favorite horror films of all time listed below (and in order).

The Thing (John Carpenter)
Alien
Halloween
Night of the Living Dead
The Shining

As I said, its constantly changing but its always between these five. For the past couple of years Alien was my favorite, but now The Thing has taken over as of late.

EYEPUS: Who are your favorite horror filmmakers?

MAC ELDRIDGE:  I always find this to be a tough question since a lot of my favorite filmmakers are genre filmmakers. If I had to stick strictly to my favorite horror director, I'd have a tough time figuring out any outside of a few (Cronenberg, Carpenter, and Romero are a few to come to mind) but I must say that my favorite filmmakers are genre filmmakers. This is the likes of Hitchcock, Del Toro, Kubrick, and Neil Marshall just to name a few. I always feel bad for the guys who get pigeonholed into a genre as I know they probably want to tell some stories outside of their respected genre.

EYEPUS: How did your film company Water Cooler Productions come about?

MAC ELDRIDGE: Water Cooler Productions came about from a project that never got made. Back in the day when my friends and I were 16 or 17, we wanted to shoot a project that focused around a few water fountains and water coolers but the project never came to exist. Since then, our motto has been to give people something to talk about around the Water Cooler. We now produce some work outside of our own but mainly it is a production company where we fund and create projects helmed by us.


EYEPUSWhat inspired you to make your astounding zombie short film CHEMICAL 12-D?

MAC ELDRIDGE: To be quite honest I never wanted to make Chemical 12-D as I always say that the film is my DP's baby more than it is mine. I was in pre pro for a love story I fell in love with but funding never came through so David (my DP) told me to write a zombie script. I was hesitant because the indie circuit was filled with zombie movies (a lot of them not being good, mind you) and if we made a zombie short we would be lost in the trash. Well, needless to say I was wrong. 12-D has been our most succesful short thus far and it has gotten more praise than I ever imagined. When I wrote the film though I wrote it to be an abduction film where zombies just so happen to be a part of the story. I think thats why it is successful. SPOILER: If you notice, throughout the entire film not one zombie hurts anything; its always the humans creating pain and death. I think that resonates with some people. The other big pull to me is that this is a scarier movie if you're a parent. Its about the horror of a mother.

EYEPUSWhich film/video camera did you used to make CHEMICAL 12-D?

MAC ELDRIDGE: Chemical 12-D was shot on the Panasonic HVX200A with a Letus adapter. The real beauty in the film is seen in the post production and what our colorist Ryan Linich did to it. The film would have a completely different vibe and feel to it if it weren't for him.

EYEPUSHow many days and hours did it took you to shoot CHEMICAL 12-D?

MAC ELDRIDGE: We worked on Chemical 12-D for one solid weekend of photography (roughly 8-10 hour days) and one day for pick ups the following weekend. The garage scene was the longest to shoot as it took 8 hours by itself due to SFX and how long the chest cutting bit took to set up. Post production was a much, much longer experience than production as we have 3 or 4 different cuts of the film with a few different sound mixes.


EYEPUS: How was your experience working with a child actor in your film?

MAC ELDRIDGE: Working with children can be tough as I found out from my latest production. They can be a real hassle if they're not wanting to do it (what I'm really saying is that stage moms are tough to deal with) but working with Wesley Klepac was a dream. He layed on the operating table for 8 hours with no complaints and he did everything I asked of him on the first take. In our down time we'd talk about sports and throw a football around. I can't think of one negative mark against him. If his passion for acting continues on into the future, you'll be seeing him around. Hes a real talent.

EYEPUS: Any hardships in the making of the film?

MAC ELDRIDGE: This was by far the most fun I've had on a set. Looking back on it, other than the typical hardships of scheduling and such, I can't think of too much that proved to be real frustrating on set.


EYEPUSHow was your film festival experience and reactions with your film CHEMICAL 12-D?

MAC ELDRIDGE: The festival circuit has been great to us as we have just played our biggest festival to date: Fantasia Film Fest. There were roughly 750-800 people to see The Human Centipede and we opened for it. It was again another surreal experience as only four years ago we couldn't get anyone to watch our work and now we're playing internationally to hundreds of people who don't know us or owe us anything. It was incredible and if that was the peak of my film career, I couldn't be happier.

EYEPUS: Any distribution deals in the future for CHEMICAL 12-D?

MAC ELDRIDGE: 12-D has been offered a distribution deal twice for online distribution/netflix. We had to turn them down both times as things just didn't make sense for us but as of now, YouTube is great. People get to see our work and that is all we really care about. The more people to see our work, the better. People have come to me about a feature which is something I'd be interested in doing. Believe me, I have an idea stirring in my head I don't think the zombie genre has seen before.

EYEPUSWhat was your overall budget for CHEMICAL 12-D and how you got the funds?

MAC ELDRIDGE: 12-D was funded out of pocket and funding wasn't a grave concern as we get all of our equipment free. I've seen around the net that people said we had a grand. That is not true. We didn't even have 500 bucks. We had favors and people who wanted to be involved with the project. Its crazy to see how far a few computers with facebook favors go (along with free rental equipment from film school).

EYEPUS: Is it hard getting funding in making a film?

MAC ELDRIDGE: Extremely but it can be done. Our latest short (The Old Man and His Dog) is our biggest budget to date and funding it was tough. Luckily a few kegger parties along with fundraising events can get you places very quickly. I always say this: everyone has a rich uncle or something like a rich uncle who can be tapped for a few bucks once or twice. Get a great project with great people involved then tap your uncle's shoulder for your one shot. However, with the way technology is going, the most expensive things on set now are catering. What I'm saying is that anyone can make a short with a few favors and an understanding of technology. Money should never stop you from making a production but only make your life easier.

EYEPUS: Lately, I’ve been asking filmmakers about horror film remakes - With so many classic horror movies been remade, which dream favorite horror film would you like to remake and why?

MAC ELDRIDGE: I have two answers for this. If I could remake a movie out of the sheer fact that I want to be a part of that franchise then I'd remake Alien. I'm only saying that because I'm such a fanboy and I want nothing more than to be a part of that franchise. It doesn't need to get remade but I want to do it anyway. With that said, the movie I actually do want to remake in a very, very bad way is Frankenstein. I think Del Toro will beat me to the punch as he wants to remake it also but I've always been infatuated with that character. I got a few ways to tell that story but its something I wouldn't tackle without a serious budget behind it. Maybe one day, but until now, it sits in the back of my brain as an idea.

EYEPUS: Do you have any upcoming film projects in the horizons?

MAC ELDRIDGE: I just wrapped production on my last short The Old Man and His Dog. Its a ghost story I have treated like my baby for the past year. We're in post production now and I can't wait to have it done for 2011. Its my The Devil's Backbone if I had to relate it to any other movie. After that, Water Cooler Productions is pretty much open however we have already decided that we are shooting a less serious horror film that we hope to shoot starting next March. We need a break after being so serious for almost two years and some fun action/horror stuff will be a blast to shoot.

EYEPUS: Any inspiring words or advice for upcoming indie/micro budget/or the very low zero budget filmmakers trying to struggle with a small penny to make a film?

MAC ELDRIDGE: I  touched on it already but my main thing now is that you don't NEED a budget like you use to. Back in the day it was 16MM, buying the film, processing it, getting a steenbeck to cut, printing the film, etc. etc. You needed money but not anymore. Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project are great examples of movies made with no money. It can be done. Its finally all about creativity!

CHEMICAL 12-D - Great Zombie Short Film

Zombies have taken over the world once again - but this time in just seven minutes in the great zombie short horror film CHEMICAL 12-D By filmmaker Mac Eldridge.

In a zombie-undead infested world, a man named Michael Frank is out searching for a zombie to experiment on with his CHEMICAL 12-D.  Research Subject a "zombie" age 8 to 12 - a child zombie.  Where he kidnaps the child zombie - brings him to his lab and experiments on the child by dissecting him, making his test subject just to test his CHEMICAL 12-D.  I could give a bit more details here but you need to see the film for yourself the ending left me jaw opened (which I won't spoil it - see the film - a must).  Lots of blood/gore splatter.  Remarkable performances by the three film cast members.  Great story and great direction by Mac Eldridge.  Great sound design and soundtrack... Mac Eldridge zombie opus in seven minutes is a classic short horror film.

Watch CHEMICAL 12-D embedded here with the permission from filmmaker Mac Eldridge.