Interview With Paul Thompson, the Director of Stalkers

Paul Thompson is the Director of Stalkers. 

La Libertad:  Where are you from?

Paul:  I was born in Montreal, but moved to the suburbs of Toronto (Mississauga) when I was ten. After growing up a suburban kid, I was eager to move into downtown Toronto, which had its draw as a hub of life, culture, and cinema. Turned out to have a thriving film industry, which is where I’ve been working for a couple of decades...

La Libertad:  How did you get your start in film?

Paul:  Despite taking film studies in Toronto and at the University of Wisconsin, my real introduction to the film industry came through a connection I made at a retail job in my hometown of Mississauga, where I worked through high school and university. A co-worker’s dad was in the industry, and heard that I had studied film, even though I knew NOTHING about how films were actually made, and [he] introduced me to a couple of great video technicians who got me some early gigs, on set, helping them out. Once my foot was in the door, it quickly became a place I never wanted to leave.

La Libertad:  Of which accomplishment are you most proud?

Paul:  I’m sure the one thing I’m most proud of, in my life, is my family, and the fact that I’ve mostly managed to keep a work-life balance in this industry, where I can still have a meaningful role in my wife and son’s lives.

As a technician, I think I am most proud of having had a chance to assist some truly iconic filmmakers, running video assist for them, especially in those cases where I was able to assemble, edit, and/or composite, on set, for them. One of my first features was Hewig and the Angry Inch, and I was on set, live syncing the multiple tape recorders, while playing back, so that John Cameron Mitchell could view two or three cameras simultaneously, for the musical numbers. (Now, of course, this is instantaneous, with digital playback systems). I also had the chance to work with George Romero, on Land of the Dead, where I would assemble sequences with him, which amused him greatly. He often joked that we could just cut the movie ourselves and release it. For someone who was such a visionary, George was one of the kindest and most generous people I’ve met in the industry. More recently, I’ve worked on several films with Guillermo Del Toro; starting in particular with The Shape of Water, and his films since, Guillermo would painstakingly assemble the majority of scenes, on set, with me doing the quick assembly for him, as we shot, often take by take. It’s amazing to see how focused he is, with such a precise understanding of how he plans to cut each frame of his films. To have had even a small role in helping that has been an incredible learning opportunity and a privilege.

As a filmmaker, I think I feel the most proud when I see the people I’ve worked with have continued or even greater success in the industry. For instance, Stalkers started out as a pitch teaser for a film contest, in 2013, and some of the actors I worked with have gone on to great success in T.V. and film. I hope I fostered a positive creative environment, and that, in some way, working with me was an experience that was a small step on their road to success. Now, having completed the feature film version, I’ve had a chance to work with some more amazing cast and crew, and I hope their Stalkers experience will likewise be a positive part of their journeys.

La Libertad:  Where did you get the idea for your new horror movie, "Stalkers"?

Paul:  Stalkers started out as just a collection of ideas for a pitch teaser about a woman, with a secret life, reuniting with her daughter, while an obsessed fan pursues her. At the time, films about captivity and torture seemed to be the state of the horror genre (Captivity, Hostel, et cetera) and our early teaser reflects that, with Kate tied up in a spooky house. But, as we filmed the teaser, and, as writer Luke Sneyd crafted the first screenplay, it became apparent to us that the more interesting angle was probably more about how people... see women and girls. So we have Kate, who has made a career of being leered at, and more, as porn star Tabitha Swann, coming back to her home town where just about everyone she encounters is still leering, even if they don’t know yet about her alter ego, something she hopes to keep a secret, as she tries on a new life as mom to her daughter, Charlotte. We also have Aubrey, a teenage girl who is exploring her sexuality, but whose boyfriend has basically limitless access to porn. How she’s affected by that is another side of the coin, as we explore their relationship as they creep into Kate’s life. Somehow, this was all before "Me Too," when the film was initially conceived, but we certainly felt even more urgency to make this film as more things about our world have come to light. Co-writer Maryna Gaidar got involved with us at around that time, and helped hone some of those ideas for us, as we started showing the script to actors and other creatives.

La Libertad:  What would you like to tell our readers about your upcoming festival screenings?

Paul:  This weekend [October 26 & 27, 2024], we are screening at the Tucson TerrorFest, which looks to be an amazing event run by fans all things horrific and spooky. Stalkers is being shown alongside classic genre films, and also some great upcoming films, like McCurdy Point and Meathook, which I recently saw at the Chicago Horror Film Festival, where we also screened. We were a little late on having a finished film to submit to the rush of genre festivals that happen during spooky season, but we have a few other festivals coming up that we can’t yet announce, and we also recently won the seasonal award for best Canadian Indie at the Montreal International Film Festival, which puts us in the running for the annual award at the Montreal fest, where we will be screening.

La Libertad:  What is your favorite, classic, scary movie, and why?

Paul:  It’s possible this is the hardest question in this interview to answer, as the genre is so rich and diverse, and also constantly developing in exciting new directions. I’d have to say my favorite sub-genre is definitely the slasher film, which means that I have to give the nod to proto-slashers like Psycho, Peeping Tom, and Halloween, while also confessing that I’ve always had a love for the Friday the 13th franchise, especially the first four movies. As a film student, I probably always wanted to make films that were like Hitchcock’s, and I’d say that in addition to Psycho, films such as Vertigo, Rear Window, and Frenzy are big influences in terms of the idea of looking, and… well, stalking. We also have a little nod to Halloween in our film. I’m not sure anyone will catch it. I hope they do.

La Libertad:  What are you most looking forward to in 2024?

Paul:  Well, 2024 is almost over, so I think I’m most looking forward to taking Stalkers to the finish line, and, hopefully, seeing it in distribution sometime in the new year, so more people can see it. We are working towards a small theatrical run, which will require some negotiation and planning, in sync with a distributor’s marketing.

La Libertad:  What are your overall career goals?

Paul:  Making an independent film like this is a long journey, and I feel like I have to ask myself that question a lot. Sometimes having an answer to that is the thing that can motivate and drive me towards finishing the project, and, other times, not answering it is the best way to keep your head down and keep working. But, having given it a lot of consideration, the end goal of making this film is probably to create future opportunities to make more movies. That’s probably the start of some kind of vicious cycle, but I hope to get the chance to do it again, and just keep making more films.

Olivia Stadler and Scarlett DiCaro, in Stalkers

La Libertad:  What links would you like to share?

Paul:  I’m not personally a huge presence on social media, but...

my Insta is videobypt

and the film's is stalkersmovieofficial 

My IMDb is www.imdb.com/name/nm0860582

La Libertad:  What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?

Paul:  Support independent cinema, and support your local cinema, be it an art house or a multiplex. Seeing movies in a cinema is a unique, communal experience, and checking out independent films will give you a chance to see things from different perspectives and styles.

Interview edited by William Mortensen Vaughan

Interview With Writer/Producer Gil Luna

 

La Libertad:  Where are you from?

Gil:  Northern California, although I’ve lived all over the U.S., in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Oregon, [and] Washington, and I am now in Boise, Idaho.

La Libertad:  How did you get your start in film-making?

Gil:  I met a filmmaker in high school, many years ago. His name was Anthony C. Ferrante; [he] launched the Sharknado series. I was just an actor then, and would help him with his projects. It was then I was bitten by the film bug, and started writing stories, and getting on film sets whenever I could.

La Libertad:  Where did you get the idea for your new, feature film, She Cries Your Name?

Gil:  It’s a true crime thriller about a Native American F.B.I. [Federal Bureau of Investigation] agent who embarks on an investigation into a serial killer that may have information about his daughter that went missing years ago. There are themes and cultural ties to Native American culture that bring attention [to] missing Indigenous women, and how the past can come back to haunt us. It’s personal, relevant, and classic storytelling.

La Libertad:  What is the story behind your project "The Bobbsey Twins Go to Hell"?

Gil:  Oh, that one! It’s the favorite of the stories I’ve written. It’s another very relevant story that must be told. It’s a dark comedy satire that makes fun of today’s volatile American society and culture. I’m looking forward to making that one. It’ll be a blast!
 
La Libertad:  What would you like to tell our readers about your writing work with The Asylum?

Gil:  Anthony C. Ferrante got me involved in writing for them during the pandemic. I reached out to him after a long period of being out of touch, and he decided to bring me on as a writer. Though I worked on a handful or projects for them, only one was released, on Amazon, called, “Attack on Titan.” Working with them was one of the most challenging endeavors I’ve had so far, and [it] taught me I can write a pretty damn good first draft in six days.

La Libertad:  What is your favorite, classic, scary movie and why?

Gil:  It’s hard to say. When I think of classic horror movies, I think of Dracula with Bela Lugosi, or George Romero’s, Night of the Living Dead. All of those movies back then were truly important to cinema today, because they paved the path for those memorable horror and thriller movies of today. I think The Exorcist is a favorite one from my own childhood. It scared the pants off of me as I watched it in secret, because my parents wouldn’t let me see it. After seeing it, and not sleeping that night, I started to wonder how they did all that cool stuff. The spark of curiosity it gave me grew, and now I’m making that magic happen on the screen.

La Libertad:  What are you most looking forward to, in 2024?

Gil:  I’m looking forward to new ventures and landscapes to explore. I think “She Cries Your Name” will be a game changer for my career, as it’s a fresh, new take on ideas of old.

La Libertad:  What are your overall career goals?

Gil:  On “She Cries Your Name,” I came in as the producer, but my goal is to write and direct films, and that’s always been my goal. In any position, I am loyal to it, "to a fault." I could step in as director on this one, but I think this film needs someone with much more experience and reputation than I have. I want to see it succeed, so I must be loyal to the project, and honest with myself.

La Libertad:  What links would you like to share?

Gil:   

Imdb.me/gilluna

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilluna/

https://www.facebook.com/gilluna

La Libertad:  What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?

Gil:  Stay vigilant, and keep your sights on your goals. There’s room for all of us.

Director Roger Hill Seeks Crowdfunder for His Upcoming Thriller, Stalker Jane!

 

Interview With Mechanical Designer Andrew Oien

Josh Mitchell referred Andrew to us. This is his response to our inquiries.

I am Andrew Oien (Andy), and I was born and raised in southern California, where I continue to live with my wife, Julie, and our daughter, Lauren. I work as a Mechanical Designer on commercial, aerospace, and medical products. I met Julie in 1994, who was also born and raised in southern California. Julie works in sales. Our Lauren recently graduated from Laguna Beach Art College. Julie is my sci-fi story co-writer, and Lauren has been our Artist for our Alien Park Dunes sci-fi story book and storyboard.

At a young age, I enjoyed reading the stories of the Hardy Boys and Sherlock Holmes, which drew me into creative writing. I also enjoyed watching and reviewing old time, black and white movies on the weekends. I did not think of these things in the early 1970's for a career path, and it was not until I had a story to tell in 1996 [that] I [started] to write again, when I wrote several theories that were published in the Roswell UFO Museum newsletter. We later published our sci-fi story in 2018. Julie helped me to review my writing, [but] she was not yet a co-writer until her many good suggestions made it so. I had all the facts down, and she was a great help to add in color and character personalities. Turned out we were a great team for this.

I am proud to be a Military Veteran, husband and father. I served in the Navy as a Quartermaster (ship navigation and safety), and was able to travel around the world, and, on time off, I traveled around many States by motorcycle. I have enjoyed my work as a Designer, and I look forward to writing more stories, and [I am] hoping we can make movies of them to share with all others having an interest in sci-fi.

I really had no interest in UFOs or Aliens until my brother Greg handed me a book on the 1947 Roswell Incident, in 1991. I was amazed that there were witnesses and possible evidence of a UFO crash! That is when my research into the subject began. After reviewing another three or four books on the subject of Roswell, I was certain an event had happened, and the U.S. Government had covered it up. I wanted to add my detective work to the effort on finding the truth, and my Navy experience with navigation was the tool to use. Between the locations of the UFO debris site out at a ranch where an explosion had occurred to the noted crash site some thirty miles away to the south, near Boy Scout Mountain, was a flight path. A path flying from north to south, over the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas... A path that was next to a National Park in Colorado, and would have flown over a National Park in Texas. (I used the Jim Ragsdale story that was reviewed by Stanton Friedman for the crash site.) I also learned that aerial photographs taken of the area of the crash site from 1947 on were pulled from viewing and buying from the National Archive, and the area from the crash site to the National Park in Texas were blacked out as a no fly zone for photos.This research resulted in our first published book, Southwest UFO Triangle Theory, in 2013. Our second published book, Alien Park Dunes, in 2018, had a sci-fi story up front, and fifty pages of new UFO research in the back. UFO research books can be a bit dry, and we wanted to try to describe our research in the way of a sci-fi story to make for more interest. Is it real? Are UFOs and aliens visiting earth? Are aliens abducting humans for study? We here have no proof of that, yet, but something strange is sure going on.

We have a website UFOTRIANGLE.COM that reviews all of our research and sci-fi story work.

Our goal for 2024 and beyond is to obtain production funding to go make our movie Alien Park Dunes! We have done all the prep work we can, with a story, screenplay, website, LLC, budget, shooting schedule, storyboard, and pitch deck.We have spent many hours working with a Director and Line Producers on the project to date.

One of my favorite movies was the original 1951, The Day the Earth Stood Still, with Klaatu and Gort. The concept brought forth (that we are not alone in our galaxy) was amazing.

If you have a dream, don't give up. I have been working on this for thirty-three years, and still have hope to make it all happen.

 Edited by William Mortensen Vaughan

Interview With Director Tehben Dean

Josh Mitchell referred Tehben Dean to us. Tehben introduced himself to us as someone who "co-directed All I’ve Got & Then Some, with Rasheed Stephens." Furthermore, he informed us that their film "premiers at Slamdance 2024, in the Narrative Features category."

La Libertad:  Where are you from?

Tehben:  I was born in Appalachia, but mostly grew up in Alaska; I consider myself Alaskan.

La Libertad:  How did you get your start in film-making?

Tehben:  I grew up in a very creative family; my whole family is in the arts, so thinking creatively was instilled in me from the beginning. I didn’t find film until my early twenties, but when I realized that was what I wanted to do, I never looked back.

Starting out, I was making music videos, and working to become a cinematographer by teaching myself and learning on the job. I put all my energy into cinematography for well over a decade, but directing was a candle that was probably lit from the beginning, even though I only more recently realized I could do it, and wanted to do it.

La Libertad:  Of what accomplishment are you most proud?

Tehben:  Never giving up when the going was hard, and making a film that was inspiring enough to be selected to showcase at Slamdance. It feels especially special to me because that is what our film All I’ve Got & Then Some is really all about - never giving up. I am really proud of that.

La Libertad:  What influenced the look of your 2024 Slamdance feature, All I’ve Got & Then Some?

Tehben:  I think my experience shooting a lot of documentary over the years was the biggest inspiration for the look of the film. I wanted to explore some experimental ideas, and take an unconventional approach to telling a narrative, and this story was the perfect opportunity to do so.

La Libertad:  How did you get started as a Director of Photography?

Tehben:  I went to a film-making course, and then kind of randomly fell in love with photography shortly after. Those two things eventually merged, and then I just started shooting music videos and short films every chance I had.

La Libertad:  Who are some directors and movies that have inspired you?

Tehben:  Terrence Malick was a big inspiration early on. Emmanuel Lubezki and Matthew Libatique are D.P.’s I’ve looked up to for a long time. Some films I love (off the top of my head) are Under the Skin, The Lighthouse, Alien, and Jurassic Park. Oh and I have to give Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings a lot of credit for inspiring my journey.

La Libertad:  What are you most looking forward to in 2024?

Tehben:  Using this opportunity to build creative relationships with amazing people, and making beautiful films.

La Libertad:  What are your overall career goals?

Tehben:  To tell inspiring stories, and be able to live comfortably doing so.

La Libertad:  What links would you like to share?

Tehben:  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tehben/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tehben/

Slamdance: https://slamdance2024.eventive.org/schedule/65778ba22f08640040102fff

La Libertad:  What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?

Tehben:  I encourage you to pursue your dreams because, if you believe in yourself, and never give up, you will succeed.

Thanks. . .

Interview by Josh Mitchell

Introduction and editing by William Mortensen Vaughan

Interview With Actor Chuck Constant

Chuck Constant is a British-trained, American stage actor, Producer, and prolific Voice-Over artist.

Charles is one of the stars of All I’ve Got & Then Some, which will be premiering at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival in January.

After training in Chicago and London, Charles went on to appear in theaters across the country, in all kinds of plays, as well as musicals, opera, improvisational comedy, film, and television.

His favorite, though, is Shakespeare. Charles has performed in more than twenty-eight of Shakespeare’s plays, including Twelfth Night, which was directed by Michael Pennington of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In addition, Charles has narrated more than two hundred titles for many elite publishers, including Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette, Recorded Books, Tantor, Oasis, Dreamscape, and more.

La Libertad:  Where are you from?

Chuck:  I started out in the suburbs of Chicago, but moved into the city as soon as I could. I miss it!

La Libertad:  How did you get your start in acting?

Chuck:  A long story, slightly less long here; freshman year of high school, I [wanted] to perform in the school talent show. I did magic, and planned to do that in the show, but I needed the classic white tie and tails, and I knew our school had several rooms full of costumes they used for the school plays.

The teacher who directed most of the plays was a close acquaintance of my best friend's dad, so an introduction was arranged for me to meet with this teacher, Doug Murphy, and ask if I could borrow a tux.

I was told that I could, but it was on the condition that I audition for the next school play. I auditioned, got cast, was totally hooked, and I have never looked back!

La Libertad:  Of what accomplishment are you most proud?

Chuck:  I think it might be that I have actually managed to make a career of it all, and never gave up on the dream. It has been a very, very long and difficult road getting to where I could actually pay my bills with money from acting, but it has been so very worth it!

La Libertad:  How did you become involved with All I've Got & Then Some?

Chuck:  Rasheed Stephens, the film's co-director and co-writer, became a friend of mine several years ago. He is a friend of my business partner, and he and I just hit it off, and we started hanging out.

A while later, he decided to do a film, and asked me if I wanted to be part of it. I had a tiny role in that one; then he did another, and offered me a larger role. Then, he got financing for a good-sized budget on yet another feature, and again, offered me a part. While the details of that film were being hashed out, he and Tehben Dean, the other co-director/co-writer, decided to shoot another film, which turned out to be All I've Got and Then Some.

La Libertad:  What was your most memorable moment on set?

Chuck:  That's probably when I was shooting an episode of a well-known TV series, and thought I was about to be fired. I am American, but I went to school in England for a while, so I can put on various British accents fairly easily.

I was doing one for the character in the episode, but between shots, I was speaking in my normal accent. The director overheard me. He came to me, and said, "You're not from England? I told casting I wanted only actual English actors to read for this role!"  That's when I thought it was all over, but he said, "Well, you fooled me!" And that was that. The shoot went on, and all was well.

La Libertad:  What is your favorite Shakespearean quote, and how can it apply to modern days?

Chuck:  Gah! So many from which to choose, I suppose, but mine is from Hamlet:  "We know what we are, but know not what we may be." I just think that many people underestimate what they can accomplish in life. They listen to the negative voices that are so prevalent in the world now. People have so much potential; they only need to acknowledge it, and the journey can begin.

La Libertad:  What are you most looking forward to in 2024?

Chuck:  Of course, I am looking forward to the film premiering, at Slamdance, in January, and to whatever that brings with it. I am also eager to get started on the next project, East Point, which is going to start shooting in Atlanta, as soon as we can lock down the actors' schedules.

La Libertad:  What are your overall career goals?

Chuck:  Of course, larger roles in film, or a series regular would be nice, but I'd just like to keep working, you know? I would also welcome more opportunities to produce, which is a new area for me.

La Libertad:  What links would you like to share?

Chuck:  I think this is the easiest one:  linktr.ee/CharlesConstant

La Libertad:  What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?

Chuck:  . . .I'll leave you with one of my favorite proverbs:

If you want happiness for an hour - take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day - go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month - get married.
If you want happiness for a year - inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime - help someone else.

Best regards. . .

Edited by William Mortensen Vaughan

 

Interview With Director Rasheed Stephens

Rasheed Stephens introducted himself to us as "one of the directors for All I've Got & Then Some, which, he tells us, "will premier at [the] Slamdance Film Festival," which is scheduled for January 19-24, 2024.

La Libertad:  Where are you from?

Rasheed:  I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.

La Libertad:  How did you get your start in film?

Rasheed:  I gave myself a start by. . .teaching myself. . .to write scripts. I used other writers' works as templates to help me cultivate my skills.

La Libertad:  Of what accomplishment are you most proud?

Rasheed:  Getting our film All I've Got & Then Some into Slamdance.

La Libertad:  Where did you get the idea for your 2024 Slamdance feature, All I've Got & Then Some?

Rasheed:  Tehben called me in the middle of June. . .after a slow spring, out of work, and waiting around to see what was going to happen with all the industry strikes. When I picked up the phone, he said, "Hey man, I was thinking a lot last night; remember that idea you had for the web series you told me about last year? I think we should take that concept and work it into a film, and then just go shoot it." 

I almost dropped my phone. "No way, man, I was literally thinking the exact same thing last night; I'm not even kidding, honest to God. The movie is based on my life."

La Libertad:  What would you like to tell our readers about your upcoming festival screening, and what you are most excited about?  

Rasheed:  I'm really looking for the response and reactions of the audience, and how they will receive our film.

La Libertad:  Who are some directors and movies that have inspired you?

Rasheed:  Spike Lee is a filmmaker I highly admire. Do The Right Thing, Pulp Fiction, [and] Swingers are  films that have immensely shaped my vision. I love indie filmmakers and film.

La Libertad:  What are you most looking forward to in 2024?

Rasheed:  I want to make two to three films in 2024 that will shake up the world.

La Libertad:  What are your overall career goals?

Rasheed:  To get to make films of my choosing without the worries of financing.  

La Libertad:  What links would you like to share?

Rasheed:  Our Trailer:  https://youtu.be/BRXk7z36tWk

La Libertad:  What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?

Rasheed:  Please go watch All I've Got & Then Some at [the] Slamdance Film Festival, for its world premier, January 20th, at 5 p.m. at The Yarrow, in Park City.

Edited by William Mortensen Vaughan

Interview With Film Producer Nicholas Gyeney

Josh Mitchell referred Nicholas Gyeney to us, and he granted us this interview.

La Libertad:  Where are you from?

Nicholas:  My family is originally from Hungary, and I currently reside in Santa Monica, California.

[At left, Nicholas Gyeney and Sean Young]

La Libertad:  How did you get your start in film?

Nicholas:  My father introduced me to movies, and every weekend we watched movies together, until he died, suddenly, when I was twelve years old. Eventually, I began using movies as an escape, and realized how much they helped me cope with the grief. It wasn’t long until I decided I wanted to make my own films, one day, to hopefully help someone else, somewhere in the world, cope with theirs.

La Libertad:  Of what accomplishment are you most proud?

Nicholas:  I think it has to be the overall journey. I’m thirty-seven years old, and have produced and directed eight feature films.

La Libertad:  Where did you get the idea for your new horror movie, The Activated Man?

Nicholas:  My own dog Louis (Louie), was like a son to me. When he died from cancer, the trauma I experienced eventually led me to develop this story. Maybe it was therapy in a way. I think all my films have been, in some sense.

La Libertad:  What would you like to tell our readers about your upcoming festival screenings?

Nicholas:  Dances With Films is an exciting one. The Activated Man [was] the Closing Night Film for the festival on December 3rd, which is quite an honor. I also have a screening coming up as the Closing Film for the Northeast Film Festival’s Horror Fest, and there the film is nominated for several awards, including Best Director and Best Feature, which is, again, quite an honor. Before the holiday break, we also [screened] at the Culver City Film Festival, on December 6th, and [will screen at] the Santa Clarita International Film Festival, on December 8th.

La Libertad:  What is your favorite classic scary movie and why?

Nicholas:  My personal favorite is Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. To me it was a beautifully crafted and executed film, and I love how aggressive and angry Freddy was in that film.

La Libertad:  What are you most looking forward to, in 2024?

Nicholas:  The theatrical release of The Activated Man!

La Libertad:  What are your career goals?

Nicholas:  If I can continue this path, and continue making films as a career, they could be big or small, I’d be more than happy with that.

La Libertad:  What links would you like to share?

Nicholas:  

Facebook: Facebook.com/theactivatedmanmovie

La Libertad:  What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?

Nicholas:  The movie is a unique blend of genres. While it’s certainly a supernatural horror film, it’s equally an emotional drama about grief and loss. 

Edited by William Mortensen Vaughan

Interview with Screenwriter Michael Normand

Josh Mitchell referred Michael Normand to us, and he was gracious enough to grant us this interview.

La Libertad:  Where are you from?

Michael:  I’m from Glasgow - the big, old one, in Scotland - not one of the ones in the U.S.  And, although I grew up there, I was actually born in a town called Falkirk, half way between there and Edinburgh.  I was officially the first Jewish birth in [the] Falkirk Royal Infirmary; I seem to have managed to retain that sense of being an "outsider."


La Libertad:  How did you get your start in writing?

Michael:  My business degree at Glasgow’s third-best university, Glasgow Caledonian, "catapulted" me into a job, in publishing, in London, at which I started moonlighting as a stand-up on the then burgeoning "alternative" comedy circuit.  BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] producers on the look out for new comedy writers would go to gigs, and indeed, I was spotted and engaged on a couple of radio and TV shows.  My "break," however, came when I met Gary Sinyor, then a budding producer at film school. He had the remnants of an idea for a film, and, having seen me on stage, suggested we co-write it.  To cut a long story short, our script Leon the Pig Farmer got made, won a handful of awards, and launched a career that I didn’t think was possible.

La Libertad:  Of what accomplishment are you most proud?

Michael:  That’s difficult to answer without sounding overly dramatic, but I arrived at LAX with a two-year work visa, a backpack of clean underwear over my shoulder, and a shoddily written screenplay in my hand, naively thinking that Hollywood would snap it up.  Three years and an extended visa later, I was again at LAX, this time going home, but with three reels of a feature film, Dirty Laundry safely checked into the luggage hold, ready for screening at that year’s London Film Festival, before popping up on TV sets all round the world, as it still does.

The feeling on that flight back to London would never have occurred had it not been for the L.A. earthquake of ’94.  I literally bumped into Robert Sherwin, a filmmaker out of NY, at a post-quake garage sale. He was a producer looking for a script; I was a screenwriter looking for a producer.  Synchronicity!  Maybe serendipity...  Two-and-a-half years later, and re-write after re-write in Venice Beach’s Novel Cafe, we were shooting Dirty Laundry in New Jersey.  

La Libertad:  Where did you get the idea for your new screenplay, The Holy Cow?

Michael:  When I first started writing The Holy Cow, the story was set in Glasgow.  My body and soul

can’t last a week without Indian food… a throwback to student days when Sunday evening meant we Jewish boys would go to The Koh-i-Noor or The Shish Mahal, in the West End.  The Chicken Tikka Masala had been voted "Britain’s Favorite Dish," and I read an article about a Glasgow curry house laying claim to have invented the now famous recipe.  The first drafts were called The Kanpur Curry House, but they were messier than The Shish’s tablecloths.  I wanted the story to have more gravity - more intelligence - more cultural resonance.  I not only had to change the concept of the story, but [I] also had to find a setting in which there was an Indian heritage.  I’d shot Dirty Laundry in New Jersey, years earlier, and had remembered from our location scouting that there was this place, Edison, in which there was a restaurant strip called "Little India."  A feature film project about food, family, and sub-culture will surely have more chance of finding interest and finance if it’s set in the U.S.; that’s sort of a fact, particularly when you think of films like The Big Sick, Today’s Special, and Chef.  So I had my location, and, with it, I weaved a story about an Indian-American family, the Agarwals, and their restaurant, The Holy Cow.  A spoiler alert isn’t necessary when I tell you the decrepit, down-on-its-knees Holy Cow was once a famous institution, NJ’s first Indian restaurant, now in need of saving and restoring to its former glory, but whether its new owner, Anwesh Agarwal is up to the task is another question.

La Libertad:  What would you like to tell our readers about your other projects?

Michael:  I have two other feature film projects on the go.  Set in London, The Visa is a highly contemporary and socially relevant story that traces the relationship between an immigration lawyer and an illegal immigrant. She wants a baby; he needs a visa. "All" he has to do to stay in the country is get her pregnant! It’s a quid-pro-quo that [could get them], respectively, disbarred and deported.  

And, set on the west coast of Scotland, Fly Me to Dunoon is a project that nearly got made a while back but for the death of the great Rod Steiger, who was to play the lead.  Based on true events, the backdrop starts in 1938, when hundreds of fleeing Eastern-European Jews, tricked and conned by the shipping line, were deposited at the docks of Glasgow, thinking it was New York, the destination on their tickets.   The film will tell the story of that shameful slice of history; and traces the present-day misadventures of a young American who discovers a family (the ancestors of that ill-fated voyage) alive and well, in a Scottish, seaside town, but with perilous plans for their long-lost "son."

La Libertad:  What inspires you?

Michael:  Quite simply, I’m inspired by the brains behind a really great film, and, by that, I mean the kind of alchemy that occurs when you combine a writer, director, producer, cinematographer, and composer to make something like Paris Texas, Butch Cassidy, The Graduate, The Small Back Room, et cetera, et cetera...

La Libertad:  What are you most looking forward to, in 2024?

Michael:  Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, and someone telling me they’d like to produce The Holy Cow.

La Libertad:  What are your overall career goals?

Michael:  My career goals are what they have been, and what they will continue to be - to turn ninety pages of script into ninety minutes of film.

La Libertad:  What links would you like to share?

Michael:  

Website - www.michaelnormand.net

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfnormand/

Instagram - mfnormand

Interview by Josh Mitchell

Edited by William Mortensen Vaughan

Interview With Genealogist and Author William Mortensen Vaughan

 It has been several years since we interviewed our Senior Editor, William Mortensen Vaughan; the last time we interviewed him was in the summer of 2020.

La Libertad: How long have you been a writer?

William:  I feel that I have been a writer all of my life, and I recently celebrated my sixty-first birthday. 

Of course, to become a writer, I first needed to learn to read. 

According to my mother, my father started reading to me almost as soon as I was born. I wore out my first copy of Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses by the time I was three years old, so my father bought me another copy of it.

Also according to my mother, the first two words I spoke were not "ma-ma" or "da-da," but "Huh?" and "book."

When I started attending school, I remember wanting to read so badly that I would stare at written words, and struggle to imagine how people were able to interpret the symbols. It seemed like the actual business of learning to read took far too long for me. I think it was late in my First Grade year (or perhaps in the Second Grade) before my teachers started teaching me to read, and it was one of the most thrilling abilities I ever developed. We had competitions, based on the honor system, to see who read the most books, and I was among a couple students who read the most. If I remember correctly, a Japanese girl was my closest competitor. She and I both started reading books from outside the children's section at the Weber County Library, in the town of Ogden, Utah, where we lived.

My father, who served as a U.S. Army Lieutenant during World War II, was a man named "William Knowlton Vaughan." He was a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and a published author, so I think he would probably have taught me to read before my fifth birthday, but he died before my fourth.

La Libertad: What types of things did you write about?

William:  I used to write poetry, including romantic poetry; I also wrote about things I read about or experienced.

Although I am currently agnostic, as a teen, I was very immersed in the Mormon religion, which inspired me to write a science-fiction fantasy novel titled Our Lord and His Sword, about the savior of another planet, which I invented. I typed this novel using a manual (not an electric - a manual) Olivetti-Underwood typewriter, which I inherited from my father.

When I attended Ben Lomond High School, in what I consider my "home town" of Ogden, Utah, it offered a Creative Writing Class, taught by an elderly woman named "Mrs. Gillins," whom we called "The Gila Monster," or merely "The Monster." This class published a booklet each year, titled The Thistle. It featured poems and short stories by Ben Lomond students, as well as drawings, also by Ben Lomond students. Mrs. Gillins had the final say on what literature was published in The Thistle. She probably had the final say on what art was published in it, too; I presume she coordinated with one or more of the art teachers to obtain illustrations for The Thistle. But before Mrs. Gillins had her final say, she had her Creative Writing students review all of the literary submissions, and come up with a certain number of poems and short stories, or pages of such, essentially by voting on them. Of course, students had a tendency to vote for their own poems and/or short stories. However, all Ben Lomond students were allowed to submit their writing for consideration.

I did not take Creative Writing in my sophomore year (Ben Lomond was a three-year school at the time), but a friend told me about the class, and The Thistle, so I submitted a stack of poems to him, to submit for consideration, in our junior year.

Mrs. Gillins had never met me in person, and I was not a very popular student, so, not having the privilege of voting for any of my poems, I had little chance of having any of my poems published in The Thistle. However, Mrs. Gillins was so impressed by one of my poems that she insisted on publishing it, in The Thistle, that year; it was titled "On Being a Man."

I took Mrs. Gillins' Creative Writing class during my senior year. One of the assignments Mrs. Gillins gave us, was to write a "scene report" about life in one of the less affluent neighborhoods, on the west side of Washington Boulevard. A significant portion of the students at Ben Lomond lived on the east side of Washington Boulevard, where it was common for them to receive new automobiles for their sixteenth birthdays. 

This scene report was a particularly easy assignment for me, because I lived with my mother and an ogre of a stepfather, on the west side of Washington Boulevard. I simply wrote a true story about a time when, at age seventeen, I ran away from home after one of the times that my stepfather physically assaulted me. It was during the winter, with snow and ice on the ground, and I tried to sleep on the back porch of a department store, Z.C.M.I. (Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution), where two police officers detained me. In their infinite wisdom, they returned me to the custody of my mother and stepfather.

During the class critique of this story, its greatest flaw seemed to be that it was not believable, and it was not believable because, in the small minds of my fellow students, a seventeen-year-old would simply have driven away in a car, rather than trudging through snow and ice to find a place to sleep outside.

Mrs. Gillins took me aside, and told me to change my story. She told me to change it from the first person perspective, to the third, and to give the boy a name, and make him thirteen. Apparently, even a fourteen-year-old would have known how to drive. She told me to make these changes, and to submit it to a short story contest at Brigham Young University.

I did as Mrs. Gillins told me. I called the boy "Paul," and gave the story the title, "An Urban Nowhere." It took First Place, and I received $50 in prize money for the story. 

I was dismayed when none of my fellow Creative Writing students wanted to publish anything I submitted. Fortunately, Mrs. Gillins insisted on publishing my short story. How could she not? No other Ben Lomond student had placed First in a writing contest that year, or received $50 worth of prize money for their writing. Mrs. Gillins also insisted on publishing one her favorite poems which I wrote that year, titled "The Return of Ulysses."

La Libertad: What is your favorite subject to write about?

William:  Genealogy and adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

La Libertad: What do you consider your writing style?

William:  I consider my writing style formal and old-fashioned, but also personal. I prefer to write in first person, to make my writing more personal, but I also like to use formal language, as if speaking to people who are older than me, and more educated.

By the way, one of the things Mrs. Gillins taught me, was to write as if to one particular person, in order to make my writing seem consistent. One of the people I choose to write to is a cousin named Ronald Mortensen, who is old enough to be my father, graduated from college, and had a career as a school teacher.

La Libertad: What subjects do you like to read about?

William:  In addition to studying genealogy, I like to "read" adaptations of A Christmas Carol, including adaptations in foreign languages. I use the term "read" loosely, because I prefer to listen to Audibles, especially with Whispersync, so I can follow along in the written version or refer to it when I want to. 

I am currently in the middle of listening to and following along, via Whispersync, and Audible titled Ebenezer:  The True Life Story of Ebenezer Scrooge. It's an in-depth adaptation of A Christmas Carol, which provides a detailed version of Scrooge's life, from the day he was born until he was about to die. Scrooge is a fictitious character, so the author, Douglas Bass, has, apparently, invented most of the details about Scrooge's life. The Audible is narrated by Benjamin Fife.

I am also interested in history, politics, foreign languages, and etymology.

La Libertad: Which writers inspired you?

William:  I am one of the few people who have read The Holy Bible from cover to cover. I also read it twice - once in English, and again, in Spanish. 

 Full disclosure:  Although I studied the King James Version, in Mormon Sunday schools and Seminaries, the version I read from cover to cover was mostly a children's version, but it had all of the same books, chapters, and verses as the King James Version. 

In Spanish, I read a Reina-Valera version. According to Wikipedia, as of October 30, 2023, there have been revisions of the Reina-Valera version published in 1602, 1862, 1909, 1960, 1977, 1995, and 2011; I read it in the '80s, so the one I read was probably the 1977 version, of which I bought a brand new copy.

I also read The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price, which I, as an agnostic, believe were written by Joseph Smith. I believe that The Book of Mormon is a work of fiction, which Joseph Smith fabricated. However, I read these books as a teen, and the Bible, in Spanish, between the ages of nineteen and twenty-one, so I feel that they must have had a significant influence on me.

Another of the most memorable authors whose work I read was Alfred Hitchcock. I read most, if not all, of his fictional series, The Three Investigators. I also read some of his short stories. 

Another of my favorite authors is Edgar Allan Poe. I still have his poem, "El Dorado," memorized.

Of course, now-a-days, I am more interested in Charles Dickens. While serving with the U.S. Army, in Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom VII, my Battle Buddy took me to see a live adaptation of A Christmas Carol, performed by fellow Service Members and D.H.L. employees, at the Base Chapel, on Bagram Airfield. I was so impressed that I have been obsessed with the story, and Charles Dickens, ever since.

La Libertad: Where can we read more of your writing?

William:  My author page on Amazon.

La Libertad: Where can we purchase your book?

William: The Genealogy of William Mortensen Vaughan, on Amazon.

La Libertad: What other books, if any, do you intend to write and/or publish?

William:  The next book I intend to write, and publish on Amazon, hopefully, in time for Christmas about thirteen months from now, will be a book about adaptations of A Christmas Carol, in film and television.

Then I intend to write another book about my genealogy, which will be a collection of profiles of my forebears - perhaps with a few profiles of some of my favorite aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I also intend to write a book titled The Memoirs of William Mortensen Vaughan.

Photo and interview by Libertad Green