Interview: Jeff Knite, Director of The Omicron Killer

Jeff Knite introduced himself to us as "the Director and Producer of the new film The Omicron Killer, currently in pre-production." His publicist referred him to us, and we thank them for providing us with this interview.

Libertad:  Where are you from?

Jeff: I was born and raised in the Boogie Down Bronx, in New York, but I now reside in a small town called Amsterdam, in upstate New York. 

Cool Fact: Kirk Douglas [who played Spartacus in Spartacus (1960)] was born and raised in Amsterdam.

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

Jeff: A friend of mine and I got tired of doing background work as actors, so we decided to make a short film to showcase our talent. My friend's name is Mark Rosenberg, and it was actually his idea. He convinced me to do it because he knew about the film festival circuit. What's funny is that, when it came time to make the film, he got busy and couldn't do it, so I ended up doing it without him. He and I are still friends, and the film did quite well. The film premiered at [the] Urbanworld Film Festival, in front of the Tom Cruise/Jamie Foxx film, Collateral (2004). It also appeared at the New York International Latino Film Festival that same year, sponsored by HBO [Home Box Office]. The Film was called Some Wounds.

Libertad:  What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Jeff: Creating and raising my kids. That is something that I can say I am most proud of. It was a struggle trying to do that and [be] a filmmaker, but I did it, and both came out pretty good.

Libertad:  Where did you get the idea for your new horror film, The Omicron Killer?

Jeff: I made a film called The Covid Killer during the pandemic. It was about a man whose wife died because of the Corona virus, so he snaps and goes on a murdering spree. The cops are having a hard time trying to catch him because everyone, including the killer, is wearing Covid masks. So while I was filming this movie on an iPhone with a shoestring budget, and a nutcase producer who literally threw my script out the window, I came up with an idea for a second, copycat killer. The main reason was because, since the first film wasn't going as planned because of this guy, I created this second antagonist so I could do re-shoots without this maniac producer and salvage most of what I already shot. So while I didn't get to make the first film as I envisioned, I still think it turned out pretty good, and most importantly, the chaos gave birth to The Omicron Killer, which is essentially a sequel to The Covid Killer, which will be ten times better.

Libertad:  Why should people contribute to your Kickstarter campaign?

Jeff: Horror films are becoming very derivative and redundant. It is difficult to find something new and interesting nowadays. The Omicron Killer brings a new and exciting twist to the horror genre by adding a great story, eyebrow-raising suspense, and hilarious comedy.

The contributions that people make will be associated with [perks]. Those perks go from digital downloads to exclusive T-shirts, exclusive posters, signed posters, Associate Producer credit, Co-Executive Producer credit, Executive Producer credit, or even [becoming] a member of the cast.

Libertad:  What inspires you?

Jeff: Other filmmakers, like:  The Russo Brothers, M. Night Shyamalan, James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, Jordan Peele, Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Rod Serling, Taika Waititi, Quentin Tarantino, [and] Robert Rodriguez, just to name a few.

Libertad:  What is the hardest part of being a movie maker in today's world?

Jeff: Competition with too many other non-filmmakers.

Back in the day, it was harder to make a film, because you had to work on film, literally. You had to shoot your movie using film, which was really expensive and hard to edit, because you had to cut your film with scissors and tape it together. Now, with advancement in technology, we shoot on digital files, which makes making films easier. Which means any Moe, Larry, or Curly [The Three Stooges] can pick up a digital camera or cell phone, and make a film. And most of these people are not filmmakers, [but they] are flooding the industry (and especially the film festivals) with these films which take up a lot of people's time, so a real filmmaker who has been struggling their whole life to get their film seen, might not get that chance. Just for an example; ten to fifteen years ago, Sundance would get an average of twelve hundred submissions to their film festival [each year]. Now they get on average [of] twelve to fourteen thousand submissions each year, and they say they watch all the films, but that's b*** ****, and you can quote me on that. If you do the math, there is no way they could possibly watch that many films from August to September, with the staff that they have. So a lot of films are going unwatched, and lost in the shuffle. Sad but true...

Libertad: What are your overall career goals?

Jeff: To make a living being a filmmaker.

I want to be in the business till I die.

Libertad: What links would you like to share?

Jeff:

The Omicron Killer Movie Kickstarter Campaign

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

Jeff: Live long and prosper!

Introduction by William Mortensen Vaughan

Interview by Libertad Green