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INTERVIEW WITH TOM VOLLMANN
Q: You've done two short movies that have been parts of other
projects--THE ALIEN AGENDA: UNDER THE SKIN and half of the soon to
be released ADDICTED TO MURDER 3: BLOOD LUST. How did this come
about?
VOLLMANN: The ALIEN AGENDA: UNDER THE SKIN segment began as a
feature script I began shooting in the summer of 1996 titled
UNSAVORY CHARACTERS. It was a story about a crime family of aliens
who infiltrate a Chicago Mob Boss and his crime family. It was a
simple script in that what it lacked in story it made up for in
effects and action. Since I was shooting in 16mm, my shooting
schedule was long (almost a year), and my budget was quite small
(around 10,000). I had worked a deal with Conrad Brooks (PLAN NINE
FROM OUTER SPACE) to fly in for three days so I could shoot his
scenes first. Since I hadn't cast most of the other parts yet, I
just shot Conrad's scenes by himself, talking to an imaginary actor
to be filmed later. Since I cast Conrad as the head of the Chicago
crime family all I needed him to do was react to people being shot
or just talking on a phone. I shot around 30 minutes of footage
(all without sync sound) before planning the remainder of the
shoot. Before I could feel good about having Conrad's footage in
the can I realized I would never be able to afford to finish
shooting in 16mm. In a moment of panic I decided to buy a digital
video camera and reshoot Conrad's footage. Man, everyone thought I
was crazy. They were right. After shooting only two short scenes
with my new cast, I decided my sci-fi action extravaganza would
never get off the ground. It was then, that I told Kevin Lindenmuth
that my project was dead. After consoling me on my failed project
Kevin asked me if I was interested in working on a segment of his
ALIEN AGENDA series. I said great! What do you have in mind? He
asked me if I had any story ideas. I really didn't. So I suggested
Kevin read the UNSAVORY CHARACTERS script and possibly rewrite it
to fit the ALIEN AGENDA theme. He did, and after rewriting it, set
it off to me. Kevin did a great job of adapting my story. Not only
do the action elements remain but there are some real neat twists
and turns as well. And the best part was we could incorporate the
16mm footage of Conrad into the movie via flashbacks. Cool. After
completing the short and sending the footage off to be edited,
Kevin offered me another project. This time it was for his new
ADDICTED TO MURDER installment. This time, when Kevin asked me if I
had a script in mind I pitched him my vampire in prison story,
KILLING TIME. He liked the concept and had me pen a screenplay..
Q: How are your recent projects different from your debut movie,
DEAD MEAT?
VOLLMANN: The biggest difference is shooting on video as opposed to
Super 8mm film. The fact that you can immediately view your footage
is a big time, not to mention money saver. Most of the time on DEAD
MEAT we were just guessing as far as lighting went. It's difficult
to create mood when your first movie out of the gate is shot on
film, particularly Super 8mm.
Also, DEAD MEAT's shooting schedule was eight months compared
to three months for ALIEN AGENDA and KILLING TIME. I've also
enjoyed shooting these shorter projects (A.G is 30 minutes and K.T
is 40) because it forces you to get to the point within the first
minute or two. With a feature you can develop the characters at a slower
pace. With these featurettes everything has
to come together quickly, which is a challenge. More bang for the
buck, so to speak.
Q: Any "production from hell" stories or interesting anecdotes?
VOLLMANN: My original UNSAVORY CHARACTERS script had over 100
gunshots and squibs in it. This probably had to do with too much
caffeine. Anyway, Kevin retained three good action scenes from my
original. Only two problems--I still hadn't perfected realistic
looking squibs and the Hollywood prop guns I had purchased were too
damn loud to fire. After securing a somewhat secluded warehouse we
were given permission to fire these guns during the day. This way
it wouldn't be as noticeable, I guess. We were given about thirty
minutes to have actors fire off a dozen or so rounds as a cop sat
in his car babysitting us. When all was said and done, these guns
were no louder than a jack hammer. Next time I intend on shooting
these off in the middle of nowhere. Out of sight out of mind. As
for the squibs, well, they worked pretty good except I made the
mistake saving time by pre-making them the night before. I wrapped
firecrackers in mortician's wax and apparently they got too moist.
Not a good idea. That's why only two squibs actually appear in the
finished movie. Next time I'll stick to directing only.
One night we shot a scene for KILLING TIME in the church I
work for. I always wanted to shoot something in the main sanctuary
because it really would make for a great locale. Since I really
didn't have permission to shoot a movie about a vampire who lives
in a prison I was taking a chance. Sure as shit, I decided to start
shooting an hour early one Sunday evening and in walks my fucking
boss. Now, as luck would have it, we were shooting a scene where
Steven Jon White (SHE DEVILS ON WHEELS) playing a prison minister,
is standing on the church altar. I was able to bullshit my way out of it
because the "religious movie" we were shooting. It was a close call, but I
still have my job and the movie rolls on, shooting much later, of course.
Q: Who are some of the actors involved in KILLING TIME? How did you
get Steven Jon White and Conrad Brooks?
VOLLMANN: I met Steven Jon White ("Sam" to his friends) in 1993. I
was introduced to him through a mutual friend who thought I would
be interested in meeting someone who worked with "The Godfather of
Gore", H.G. Lewis. And having just finished DEAD MEAT, I was
thrilled. Sam liked my film and said it was better than any of
Lewis' gore films. At the time I figured he was just being polite.
But he actually did like it and showed it to some distributors for
me. Since then we've worked on various projects together, mostly
commercial gigs. And when it came time to do ALIEN AGENDA I asked
Sam if he would like to play one of the major roles. He agreed, and
thought it would be fun. So I cast him as Detective Sam Minella.
Sam's an old pro--he worked long hours with a bad back and a
sprained toe and never complained once! What a trooper! One added
advantage to having Sam on the set was his knowledge of filmmaking.
While working on the Lewis films he would do everything from sound
to working the 35mm Mitchell camera. I picked up a lot of helpful
hits from Sam.
I met Conrad Brooks as the Fangoria convention in New York in
1995. We struck up a conversation that led to me asking him if he'd
be interested in doing a "picture" for me (Conrad refers to films
as pictures). In the next year Conrad and I kept in touch. I'd send
him scripts to read and see if he liked any. Since Conrad lived in
L.A he often travels to the East Coast to do conventions. When his
train would arrive at Union Station (Conrad never flies) Sam and I
would meet him for lunch and discuss the plans for the movie. Like
Sam, Conrad also worked extremely hard and never complained. And as
a reward I gave him a scene with a pretty girl giving him a massage
in a jacuzzi. He does have a way with the women.
Q:What do you think of the current state of low-budget production?
VOLLMANN: Low budget production may actually be looking up.
Blockbuster seems to be loosening up on accepting lower budgeted
efforts such as ADDICTED TO MURDER, FEEDERS and CONTACT BLOW. Even
Fangoria is showcasing independent filmmakers in just about every
Issue and are even starting up their own video line with the
premiere of Andrew Parkinson's I, ZOMBIE. I think the biggest
problem with lower budgeted genre efforts isn't the lack of good
product so much as it's the reluctance of the horror fan to part
with their $20 bucks to buy an independent video. There's very
little support out for the kinds of movies that independent
filmmakers produce. All the fans care about are "HALLOWEEN 27" or
"LEPRECHAUN 19". At least independent filmmakers are making a
conscious effort to try something different. We need your support
people! If very fan who reads FANGORIA (about 1/4 million) bought
one low budget video a year, there would be more filmmakers making
better and more original material for everyone to view. As it
stands, it's the fans who need to take a chance and support the
independent videos that we work so hard to produce. Until that
happens, it'll be more of the same. Can you say "FRIDAY THE 13th-
THE REMAKE"!
Q:What are your future projects?
VOLLMANN: At present I'm trying to sell a comedy script entitled
ESCORTS. It's loosely based on a true story about an exclusive
escort service. It would make for a wacky movie, similar to CLERKS
I imagine. As for genre projects, I've got a sci-fi horror script
called HEARTLESS that I'd like to do. I would describe it as a
cross between BAD TASTE and THE HIDDEN. It could be very creepy.
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