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#40 – “He Would Have Been So Happy About This Notoriety”: Ed Wood Heir Bob Blackburn on the PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE Director’s Legacy

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Today’s guest is Bob Blackburn – he’s the son of the famous sportscaster by the same name, Bob Blackburn, who was the play-by-play voice of the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA and was inducted into the Sports Halls of Fame in both Oregon and Washington. Bob, the son, also has a background in radio, but the reason I’m talking to him today is the book he just released: KATHY WOOD & I – HOW I FELL DOWN THE ED WOOD JR. ANGORA RABBIT HOLE. Bob, you see, is the custodian of the estate of the independent filmmaker Ed Wood – the legendary, famous or infamous director, writer and producer of films like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, GLEN OR GLENDA and BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, which are sometimes called cult classics, sometimes called “the worst movies of all time”, but in both cases are appreciated and celebrated for offering a kind of cinema that’s wonderfully different and unique. Bob became friends with Ed Wood’s widow, Kathy Wood, and in his book, he paints a vivid picture of a very unusual friendship and talks a lot about Ed Wood’s work and his legacy. In our interview, Bob discusses the legacy of Ed Wood, his friendship with Kathy, the Tim Burton biopic starring Johnny Depp which came out in 1994, and much more.

Bob Blackburn with Kathy Wood, Ed Wood’s widow.

My interview with Bob Blackburn was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, check out episode #74, which features an in-depth discussion of Burton’s ED WOOD and the Ed Wood movies.

If you enjoy my interviews here on Talking Pictures, please consider heading over to patreon.com/TalkingPicturesPodcast to support the production of new episodes.

So without any further ado, here’s Bob Blackburn!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Bob Blackburn
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#39 – “I Still Don’t Feel the Code Has Been Cracked on How to Adapt These Things”: Screenwriter Dave Callaham on DOOM

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Today’s guest is screenwriter Dave Callaham, and our conversation revolves around one of his early screenwriting assignments: the adaptation of the influential video game DOOM by id Software, turned into an action movie starring The Rock in 2005. Dave quickly became an in-demand writer in Hollywood, and his credits include a ton of high-profile action movies and blockbusters – he wrote the initial script of what would then became Sylvester Stallone’s THE EXPENDABLES, he worked on films like GODZILLA and ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP, he was a screenwriter on big comic book movies like WONDER WOMAN 1984, SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS and SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, and apart from that, he was the creator of the Amazon series JEAN-CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON and the writer and producer of a satirical animation film, AMERICA: THE MOVIE.

Our interview, however, focuses on DOOM. Dave talks about the aspects of the game which he wanted to bring to the screen and about some of the changes that were made, He also discusses the film’s legacy and his collaboration with original director Enda McCallion – who was replaced by Andrzej Bartkowiak during pre-production – and he talks about his work on another video game adaptation, the 2021 action film MORTAL KOMBAT. Please note that the connection during our interview was a bit shaky, so the sound quality may be a bit wobbly at some points during the interview – but you won’t have any problems following our conversation.

My interview with Dave Callaham was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please visit lichtspielplatz.at and check out episode #71, which features an in-depth discussion of the two DOOM movies. Also, make sure to listen to my conversation with original DOOM director Enda McCallion and my interview with Tony Giglio, the writer/director of the second DOOM movie DOOM: ANNIHILATION.

If you enjoy my interviews, please consider heading over to Patreon and supporting the production of new episodes.

So without any further ado, here’s screenwriter Dave Callaham!

 

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photo courtesy of Dave Callaham
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#38 – “I Started Becoming Very Irresponsible”: Director Enda McCallion Explains How He Got Fired from DOOM (and What He’s Up to Now)

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Today’s guest is Irish filmmaker Enda McCallion, and our interview was prompted by his involvement in the 2005 horror film DOOM starring The Rock, an adaptation of the influential video game by id Software. Enda was attached to the project in its initial stages and during pre-production, but was then fired and replaced by Andzrej Bartkowiak as the new director. Here, for maybe for the first time, Enda talks about his experience developing DOOM and explains what happened during pre-production, and he also gives us a glimpse of what his version of DOOM would have looked like and what remains in the finished film.

Enda McCallion originally garnered attention as a director of very unusual, daring, funny and often subversive commercials. His best-known work is the Judderman commercial for the Metz alcopop drink, shot in a silent movie-inspired fashion and featuring a strange creature, the Judderman, luring a hapless wanderer deep into the woods with the Metz drink. Other notable commercials include two edgy spots for Gervais, featuring a lesbian couple with one girl torturing her lover by denying her access to the Gervais ice cream, or a McDonald’s spot depicting a group of aliens ready to attack humans coming out of a McDonald’s restaurant because, as they say, “they taste better afterwards”. Enda also made spots for companies like Nestea, Fanta, Citroen, Renault, Opel, Samsung, and he directed one of the most lavish commercials ever made, the “Ryder Cup 2006” for Allied Irish Bank, which was shot on over 20 locations with hundreds of extras. Enda also created a music video for Nine Inch Nails, “Deep”, and a few years after his DOOM experience, he directed a horror film called HIT AND RUN, an intense low-budget film which displays the same dark sense of humor and visual pizzaz that could be seen in his commercials. In our interview, Enda moves beyond DOOM to discuss his style and his approach to storytelling and directing, he shares anecdotes about several of his projects, and he talks in-depth about several projects which never came to be, and some which are currently in development.

My interview with Enda McCallion was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please visit lichtspielplatz.at and check out episode #71, which features an in-depth discussion of the two DOOM movies. Also, make sure to listen to my conversation with DOOM screenwriter Dave Callaham, and my interview with Tony Giglio, the writer/director of the second DOOM movie DOOM: ANNIHILATION, here on Talking Pictures.

If you enjoy my interviews, please consider heading over to Patreon and supporting the production of new episodes.

So without any further ado, here’s director Enda McCallion!

 

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Enda McCallion
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#37 – “You’re Never Going to Meet Up with Expectations”: Director/Writer Tony Giglio on His Video Game Adaptation DOOM: ANNIHILATION

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Today’s guest is filmmaker Tony Giglio, and our conversation revolves around his 2019 film DOOM: ANNIHILATION which he wrote and directed. Unlike the 2005 DOOM movie starring The Rock, this newer adaptation of the infamous and influential ego shooter video game by id Software was made on a very small budget, and it’s not a sequel or remake, but basically a new take on the story of a marines team fighting a horde of demons which infiltrated a space station on Phobos, one of the moons of Mars. DOOM: ANNIHILATION is a well-made, fun action film which finds a good balance between thrills, carnage, horror and excitement – and it has a lot of details capturing the spirit of the game. In our interview, Tony talks about the development of the film, the adaptation process, the budgetary restraints of the production and the appeal of the game. He also discusses why id Software weren’t involved and how a miscommunication caused premature negative reactions, and for the first time, he talks about the sequel he wanted to do, which was essentially greenlit, then postponed during the pandemic and eventually and unfortunately cancelled.

Tony Giglio started out in Hollywood as an assistant on several cult classics, including Michael Mann’s HEAT, Sam Raimi’s THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, and John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM L.A. As a writer and director, Tony’s made several other cool low-budget movies, some of which he also discusses during our conversation – most notably his 2005 action thriller CHAOS starring Jason Statham, Ryan Philippe and Wesley Snipes. He also directed movies like the tense submarine thriller IN ENEMY HANDS starring William H. Macy and Til Schweiger or the dark backwoods horror film TIMBER FALLS, and as a screenwriter, he worked on the DEATH RACE sequels for Paul Anderson.

My interview with Tony Giglio was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please visit lichtspielplatz.at and check out episode #71, which features an in-depth discussion of the two DOOM movies. Also, make sure to listen to our interviews with the original director of the 2005 DOOM movie, Enda McCallion, and my conversation with DOOM screenwriter Dave Callaham here on Talking Pictures.

If you enjoy my interviews, please consider heading over to Patreon and supporting the production of new episodes.

So without any further ado, here’s director Tony Giglio!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Tony Giglio
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#36: “Nobody Said: Wow, We’re Doing Something Revolutionary Here”: Ron Bonk on his Early Found-Footage Film STRAWBERRY ESTATES

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Today’s guest is Ron Bonk, best known as the owner of the New York-based underground production and distribution company SRS Cinema. Ron started out as a filmmaker in the shot-on-video world of the 1990’s, writing and directing low-budget genre films like CITY OF THE VAMPIRES and THE VICIOUS SWEET. He went on to direct several independent horror films like CLAY, MS. CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST or the tongue-in-cheek HOUSE SHARK. With SRS Cinema, he’s produced and distributed numerous other films with splendid titles such as AMITYVILLE BIGFOOT, PUPPET SHARK or COCAINE CRABS FROM OUTER SPACE.

Our conversation revolves around a found footage film Ron Bonk made in the late 90’s called STRAWBERRY ESTATES, the story of a professor and his student who, along with a medium and a cameraman, venture into an abandoned insane asylum to communicate with the dead – what could possibly go wrong? Ron made the film twice – once in 1997, and then again in 1999, for a mere $400, to capitalize on the success of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. In our conversation, Ron talks about the making of both versions, and how he approached the found footage aesthetic and its spirit of authenticity. He also talks about his first ventures into the world of filmmaking, and how his film poked fun at the conventions of no-budget films while embracing the shot-on-video aesthetic which has very much become a standard these days.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #68, which features an in-depth discussion of STRAWBERRY ESTATES and many other found footage horror films. Also, make sure to listen to our interviews with found footage filmmakers Ted Nicolaou, Brian Leslie, Stefan Avalos and Dean Alioto here on Talking Pictures.

So without any further ado, here’s director Ron Bonk!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photo courtesy of Dean Alioto
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

#35: “It’s Good to Be Ahead of Your Time, But Not a Decade”: Director Dean Alioto on Pioneering Found Footage Film UFO ABDUCTION

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Today’s guest is Dean Alioto, writer and director of the groundbreaking found footage horror film UFO ABDUCTION, which also became known as THE MCPHERSON TAPE. The film tells the story of a family whose house is surrounded by alien creatures one night, and while the panicked people inside the house become more and more frightened and try to deal with the situation, a family members records the entire event with a 1980’s-style home video camera. Dean made the film on a shoestring budget in 1989 while he was in his mid-Twenties, and while there have been several found footage and pseudo-documentary precursors since the 1960’s, what is striking about UFO ABDUCTION is how much it anticipates the aesthetic and the storytelling that was popularized ten years later by THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and other found footage horror films.

In our interview, Dean Alioto talks about the making of this unusual, pioneering film, and which strategies he used to make the material more authentic. He relates the incredible and hilarious story of how the film disappeared, then reappeared and was thought to be a real recording of an actual close encounter of the third kind – which then, through many strange coincidences, led to the production of a remake called ALIEN ABDUCTION: INCIDENT AT LAKE COUNTY, which was released in 1998, again directed by Dean. We also talk about some of Dean’s other projects, including his latest horror film PORTAL, and some of his upcoming productions.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #68, which features an in-depth discussion of UFO ABDUCTION and ALIEN ABDUCTION and many other found footage horror films. Also, make sure to listen to our interviews with found footage filmmakers Ted Nicolaou, Brian Leslie, Stefan Avalos and Ron Bonk here on Talking Pictures.

So without any further ado, here’s director Dean Alioto!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photo courtesy of Dean Alioto
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

#34: “It’s very easy for me to scare myself”: Director Ted Nicolaou on THE ST. FRANCISVILLE EXPERIMENT

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Today’s guest is Ted Nicolaou, best known for his many collaborations with producer Charles Band, including the popular SUBSPECIES series. Ted started out as a sound recordist on Tobe Hooper’s cult classic THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and then went into editing, working on films like ROAR, TRANCERS and GHOULIES. As a director, and ofentimes as a writer, too, he made films like the offbeat horror comedy TERRORVISION, charming fantasy movies for children like DRAGONWORLD or LEAPIN’ LEPRECHAUNS, and, of course, the aforementioned SUBSPECIES films – a series of vampire horror films which made perfect use of their impressive Romanian locations and managed to mix vampire lore, dramatic horror and a dose of eroticism with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek B-movie attitude.

Our conversation, however, revolves around a lesser-known film which Ted directed: THE ST. FRANCISVILLE EXPERIMENT – a found-footage horror film that came out shortly after THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT made its mark on the horror genre. The film tells the story of a group of filmmakers who set out to spend the night in a haunted Louisiana mansion, hoping to encounter the ghosts of the victims of Delphine LaLaurie, the real-life New Orleands socialite who brutally tortured slaves in the 1800s. Ted was brought onto the film after some elements had already been shot, and he encountered a production that wasn’t as carefully prepared as it should have been. In our interview, Ted relates how he came on board of the film, how the handled the initial shoot without much room for directorial influence, and how he and the production team then went about to restructure the film and add elements in reshoots – resulting in a horror film which wears the influence of BLAIR WITCH on its sleeve, but manages to create a chilly, atmospheric mood and several effective scare scenes of its own.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #68, which features an in-depth discussion of THE ST. FRANCISVILLE EXPERIMENT and many other found footage horror films. Also, make sure to listen to our interviews with found footage filmmakers Dean Alioto, Brian Leslie, Stefan Avalos and Ron Bonk here on Talking Pictures.

So without any further ado, here’s director Ted Nicolaou!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Ted Nicolaou
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

#33: “We Didn’t Think Anyone Would Watch 1½ Hours of Crappy Video of Running Around in the Woods”: Stefan Avalos on Found Footage Precursor THE LAST BROADCAST

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Today’s guest is Stefan Avalos, who was once profiled by Wired magazine as “one of the twenty five people helping to reinvent entertainment”. Together with Lance Weiler, he wrote, produced, directed and starred in the found footage thriller THE LAST BROADCAST, a film which they also shot, edited and scored themselves – and which became the first feature film that was released digitally in commercial cinemas in 1998. The film is a true crime documentary about the two hosts of a cable access show called Fact or Fiction who disappear in search of the mythical Jersey Devil creature. A strange fan who accompanied them and returned unharmed is seen as a murder suspect, but the documentarian believes that the footage will reveal a different story.

Before making THE LAST BROADCAST, Stefan Avalos directed his feature film debut THE GAME in 1993, an edgy crime thriller about two college boys who become involved in a deadly counterfeiting scheme. Later on, Stefan directed the supernatural horror film THE GHOSTS OF EDENDALE, produced films like Paul Tarantino’s black-humored horror comedy HEADHUNTER, and worked as a visual effects creator. His documentary STRAD STYLE about a man from Ohio trying to make a perfect copy of a Stradivarius-quality violin without any formal training in violin making, was released in 2017 and won several awards at festivals like Slamdance.

In our conversation, Stefan Avalos relates the true story behind his first feature film THE GAME and talks about the development and thought process behind creating THE LAST BROADCAST – including the surprise ending and the documentaries which inspired the film. He discusses the strategies he and Lance Weiler used to make their film look authentic, and remembers a few incidences where people were somewhat confused about the reality of the story. He also talks about the ideas behind THE GHOSTS OF EDENDALE and discusses his future projects. In our conversation, we also dive into a fascinating discussion of what AI will be capable of and how that might affect the future of filmmaking – and the future of film consumption.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #68, which features an in-depth discussion of THE LAST BROADCAST and many other found footage horror films. Also, make sure to listen to our interviews with found footage filmmakers Dean Alioto, Ted Nicolaou, Brian Leslie and Ron Bonk here on Talking Pictures.

So without any further ado, here’s director Stefan Avalos!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photo courtesy of Stefan Avalos
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

#32: “In 1999, There’s a Lot of Things People Don’t Know About”: Brian Leslie on Producing the BLAIR WITCH Follow-up THE BLACK DOOR

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Today’s guest is Brian Leslie, producer of the found footage horror film THE BLACK DOOR, which came out in 2001 on the heels of the success of the genre-defining THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. THE BLACK DOOR was directed by Kit Wong, and Brian Leslie was brought on board by his production partner Lucas Lowe. Lowe, best known as the director of martial arts action films like KING OF THE KICKBOXERS and AMERICAN SHAOLIN, had worked with Brian on a horror/mystery anthology series which was originally called THE LEGENDS OF THE BUSHWALKER and was then renamed DIARIES OF DARKNESS, with Lowe as director, Brian Leslie as producer, and both as creators and writers. There is an interesting and somewhat ironic connection between THE LEGENDS OF THE BUSHWALKER and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, but I’ll leave it up to Brian to tell this story. Both Lowe and Leslie then worked on THE BLACK DOOR, the creepy story of an investigation into the mysterious background of a severely wounded hospital patient, which leads to an old satanic sect – and one of the film’s highlights is a “found” 8mm film of a ritual performed in the 1930’s, which easily counts as one of the most effective set pieces in the history of found footage.

In our conversation, Brian discusses his background as a producer, the development of THE LEGENDS OF THE BUSHWALKER and its surprising connection to the film which kickstarted the first wave of found footage horror back in 1999. He talks about the making of THE BLACK DOOR and its individual elements, including a haunted house. And he relates a bizarre, frightening and ultimately very sweet encounter during the production of THE BLACK DOOR.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #68, which features an in-depth discussion of THE BLACK DOOR and many other found footage horror films. Also, make sure to listen to our interviews with found footage directors Dean Alioto, Ted Nicolaou, Stefan Avalos and Ron Bonk here on Talking Pictures.

So without any further ado, here’s producer Brian Leslie!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photo courtesy of Brian Leslie
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

#31: “I Don’t Need Cute” – Director Carl Schultz on THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES

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Today’s guest is director Carl Schultz, and our conversation revolves around his work on the TV series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES, or THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES, as it’s later been retitled. This lavishly produced early 90’s show, a spin-off of the popular Indiana Jones movies, follows the adventures of Indy as a boy, played by Corey Carrier, and as a young man, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, encountering numerous famous historical figures and events. Carl directed several episodes of the show, including the first few episodes which has the protagonist meeting contemporaries like Pancho Villa, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, and learning about the Mexican Revolution and the suffragette movement, among others. He also made the famous “Mystery of the Blues” two-part episode set in Chicago where Indy meets jazz musician Sidney Bechet and gangster Al Capone. Furthermore, Carl directed many of the bookends of the show, segments with a 93-year old Indy reminiscing about his earlier adventures.

Carl Schultz (left) on the set of YOUNG INDIANA JONES with executive producer George Lucas.

Carl Schultz was born in Budapest but left Hungary in the 1950’s and moved to Australia, where he established himself as a versatile storyteller. He directed several TV productions, including the mini-series RIDE ON STRANGER from 1979, based on the novel by Kylie Tennant set in the 1930’s, and the mini-series LEVKAS MAN from 1981, based on a book by Hammond Innes. Carl also directed several notable theatrical features, including the 1983 drama CAREFUL HE MIGHT HEAR YOU, the quiet story of a young kid caught in a custody battle between his two aunts, which won eight Australian Film Institute Awards, plus the David Williamson adaptation TRAVELLING NORTH from 1987, the deeply human story of an old curmudgeon who tries to enjoy his retirement days without going through the pains of addressing his health problems, and Carl’s American debut, THE SEVENTH SIGN from 1988, an apocalyptic horror movie starring Demi Moore and Michael Biehn.

In our conversation, Carl recalls the freedom he enjoyed as a director and his impressions of the show’s writer’s room. He also discusses his thoughts on the Old Indy bookend segments and his general approach as a filmmaker to the Young Indy stories.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #67, which features an in-depth look at the Young Indiana Jones TV series. Also, make sure to listen to my interview with actor Sean Patrick Flanery here on Talking Pictures!

So without any further ado, here’s Carl Schultz discussing how he came on board of YOUNG INDIANA JONES!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Carl Schultz
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

 

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