Danny Trejo in FURNACE, he looks like a nice guy |
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Part Two of Four:
If you are wanting to act, write, direct, do make-up, special effects, or any aspect of Hollywood then this interview should be extremely useful to you.
TM: FURNACE is a film written and directed by yourself.
Two of my favorite actors being Tom Sizemore and Danny Trejo were part of the film. Do you find it easier or more difficult to work with veteran actors such as them Vs fresh and upcoming talent?
WB: First of all I want to make sure its noted that the original script for Furnace was written by a writer named Anghus Houvouras, he is a great writer, his screenplay was fantastic. When I get hired to do stuff I tend to rewrite things which is nothing to do with wether its good or bad I just put my on spin on it so really his script inspired the script that I wrote.
As far as newcomers or established stars it really just depends on their personalities. Danny Trejo, I don't think I have ever worked with a more pleasant and professional person. I was actually nervous about meeting him because he plays such tough guys in films but he's actually one of the sweetest people you will ever meet and the most professional. It was 10 below Zero when we were working on FURNACE, we had no heat, our trailers were lousy, we had no electricity 3 hours of the day because the generators would freeze and he never complained one time.
If you can get newcomers right off the boat then they are usually extremely cooperative. Sometimes with fresh talent they think they are suppose to behave a certain way and it really effects their career, I have seen it happen many times and know because I pulled a lot of the same crap when I was younger. If you misbehave you do not get rehired. I mean lets face it I was never a brilliant actor but I was a consistent actor and I learned very early in the game to keep my mouth shut, take care of myself, stay in my trailer until they needed me and I really believe that is how I kept working.
TM:Tell me about Transition Films, what is your business model
and what type of film work do you primarily focus on.
WB: I've had a production company in Los Angeles for about 7 years, I produce a lot of commercials for the Disney channel and Disney toys.....Lots of stuff for Disney. Even though I have a huge background working in horror films I also have a lot of experience working with children and I really love working with children and directing them. I directed Power Rangers, Mary Kate and Ashley, some animation 
Down To Earth Guy.... |
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pilots for the Fox family channel. I have offices in Westwood and a team of 15 people that work for me. CG, writers, production accountants, production designers....its a full service company that is mainly used for commercials.
Doing commercials is such a different world, Ill put it to you this way....I got paid more in one day doing a commercial for the Nintendo Wii then I got paid in three months working on the film FURNACE. It's a great gig to get but its hard to break through.
TM:Do you find it when you approach someone with your production company as a director that it helps you or hurts you coming from an acting background when working with actors?
WB: 9 times out of 10 I get along better with actors because I was an actor. I am very sympathetic towards the process because I understand how difficult it is. I am very respectful of every actor that I work with. I also recognize irresponsible behavior because I have pulled every trick in the book myself, which is not so beneficial because I will call them on their actions and it makes rough roads.
TM:You have been killed by Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface in film and TV, who is another horror icon that you would like to add to the list and how would you be killed?
WB: Well I think the only one that hasn't done it is Pinhead, no Chucky..I want to be killed by Chucky he should put me through a giant paper shredder.
TM:I first noticed you as an actor in the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead. Anytime remakes are made tons of fans are not supportive of the project, ESPECIALLY with a large cult following such as NOTLD...Did you try and keep the character of Tom the same as Keith Wayne portrayed him in the original film?
WB: No because it was written different, and first of all they didn't want the character played the same way...God love that guy but he was kind of a lug of potatoes. I think I booked the job because my speciality at that time period was being vulnerable and having nervous break downs, that's what my gig was. So I think George Romero and Tom Savani was looking for my look and my speciality. Savani told me and Katie Finneran that we were 2 angels in Hell. Doing that movie was physically very hard, we had to keep ripping the doors off and nailing them up and do it over and over.....I'm the biggest wuss in the world so I was trying to front like I knew what I was doing...it was a tough shoot. I will say that I'm very proud 
Killed by Jason, Freddy, and Leatherface.....What more could you ask for? |
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of the work that I did.
One day George Romero invited me to lunch by myself. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be in the remake of one of my favorite movies and being invited to lunch by George Romero and having him tell me what a great job I did.
TM: Yea that is amazing I cant imagine what its like to be in a remake of a film like that.
WB: Well its like when I was in high school I saw the first Friday the 13th film.....a few years later I was in Friday the 13th part 7....can you imagine what a trip that was?
TM: I like Part 7 that's one of the best ones in the series.
WB: Yea I like that film a lot I think John Carl Buechler did a great job.
TM: I own the box set and if I'm ever watch one Its that one or whichever the one is with Crispin Glover in it.
WB: You sound like a fun guy, what the hell are you doing out there?
OK MATCHFLICK.......What I really wanted to say next was "I will be on a plane tomorrow and sweep your floors, scrub your toilets, and be your errand boy to be a part of your next film.......but I kept the Interview professional and replied this......
TM: Funny you should ask your the second director to ask me that lately, It's a big risk to take....I guess for someone already in the business it seems normal but for me its scary to come to a new place.
WB: Yea I came out here with no money, I think it was $700.00 which was gone in no time. I went to Buechler's and said I'll sweep the floors for free I just wanted to be around all those people and hear how they talked and get on a movie set, and basically worked 3 times harder then he expected me to and sure enough he gave me a job. I really owe my career to John Buechler and Charlie Band. Its not a an easy move, I would not recommend it unless its all you can think about. If you want it bad enough then you have to visualize it and know that it will be real and then it will be real! I came out here didn't know anyone, slept in my car when I got here.....I'm not famous, I'm not completely loaded, but I'm doing what I want to do and I'm the happiest person that I know and work the most out of anyone I know.
Tune in next time for part 3 of the Interview. William discusses living with Viggo Mortensen, being raised on the carnival circuit, working with Tony Todd, getting Mel Brooks autograph, and he answers why Return of the Living Dead 4 and 5 might not have been the films you horror fans were looking for!
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This column explores every aspect of the film business from a true fanboy's perspective.
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| Tim Malcolm |
Tim Malcolm got his first job at a movie theater in 1996 working as a projectionist. He quickly learned that there was no better job then getting paid to watch movies. Since then he has been an advid film watcher, collector, critic and writer.
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